Criminal charges brought against Bradenton family that sold toxic bleach as COVID-19 cure

Members of a Bradenton family who marketed a toxic bleaching agent as a cure for COVID-19 and other serious diseases and conditions now face federal criminal charges.

Mark Grenon, 62, and sons Jonathan Grenon, 34, Jordan Grenon, 26, and Joseph Grenon, 32, peddled the substance under the name “Miracle Mineral Solution” (MMS) through a quasi-religious organization known as the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, according to court documents. The organization operated out of a home on Garden Lane in Bradenton.

The Grenons are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as well as criminal contempt of court related to a civil case filed by the federal government earlier this year.

In that case, U.S. attorneys obtained court orders banning the Grenons from manufacturing, labeling or distributing MMS. The Grenons responded with numerous refusals to comply with the court orders. Their replies also contained threatening statements towards the judge presiding over the case and others in the U.S. government.

In addition to the written defiance, the Grenons also actively violated the court orders as they continued to misbrand the unapproved drug and its properties, special agents with FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations found. And in one instance, an agent was able to make an undercover purchase of MMS through Genesis II. The FDA investigation led to the criminal complaint filed against the Grenons in federal court in Miami.

“Not only is this MMS product toxic, but its distribution and use may prevent those who are sick from receiving the legitimate healthcare they need,” said Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, in a press release. “A United States District Court already has ordered the defendants to stop distributing this product; we will not sit idly by as individuals purposefully violate Court orders and put the public in danger.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies, hazmat units and agents of FDA-OCI were stationed at the Genesis II headquarters in Bradenton as a property seizure was conducted. Large drums with hazardous material warning labels and other materials were removed from the home.

A post attributed to Mark Grenon on the Genesis II website referenced the supposed arrest of two of his sons in Bradenton on Wednesday.

“It’s a sad day for the U.S. when a Church and its Bishops arrested for helping others!” the post said. “Today, July 8th, 2020, Bishops Jonathan Grenon and Jordan Grenon were arrested! The US Marshals told Jonathan’s wife that they are coming to Colombia to extradite Bishops Mark and Joseph Grenon also! We need everyone to pray and send letters to President Trump and Attorney General Barr today to let them know of this attack of our US Constitutional rights with GROSS Negligence!”

Mark Grenon has made numerous appeals to President Donald Trump since legal action was brought against Genesis II, and encouraged the organization’s followers to do the same. In April, Grenon claimed he wrote to the president touting MMS as a treatment for COVID-19. It was just days before the president made controversial remarks about the possibility of injecting disinfectant into COVID-19 patients. The president later claimed the remarks were sarcastically made to reporters, “just to see what would happen.”

However, the remarks appeared to encourage Grenon, who promoted the president’s statements as support for MMS.

Grenon also continues the assertion that his organization is facing religious persecution, despite also claiming on numerous occasions that Genesis II is non-religious. In an interview earlier this year, Grenon acknowledged that the organization was set up under the guise of religion to avoid governmental regulation and arrest.

When used as directed, the MMS product creates chlorine dioxide, a chemical agent used as bleach in multiple industries and as a disinfectant at water treatment facilities in minuscule amounts.

MMS has not been proven to cure any diseases, according to the FDA, and the agency “has received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and dying,” after drinking it.

An affidavit filed in federal court alleges that the Grenons sold thousands of bottles of the substance to consumers around the country and raked in approximately $500,000 of revenue “in the last year alone.” The Grenons drew a monthly revenue of about $32,000 from MMS sales, according to court documents, but that amount jumped to approximately $123,000 in March when they began to promote the substance as a cure for the coronavirus.

The sale and promotion of MMS were conducted through a number of websites. Mark and Joseph Grenon also hosted a weekly podcast touting the benefits of MMS which sometimes included the other family members. A recent episode also featured Judy Mikovits, the discredited former research scientist who shared false claims and conspiracy theories about the coronavirus in a viral video earlier this year.

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Criminal charges brought against Bradenton family that sold toxic bleach as COVID-19 cure."