A father and his three sons have been sentenced to 12 years in prison for making $1 million by selling toxic bleach as a ‘miracle cure’ for coronavirus.
Mark Grenon, 65, and his sons Jonathan, 37, Joseph, 35, and Jordan, 29 were found guilty of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government and FDA by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug.
Jonathan and Jordon received 12-year prison sentences after being found guilty of two counts of violating federal court orders requiring them to stop selling the drug, while dad Mark and his other son Joseph Grenon both received five-year terms.
The family, all of Bradenton, Florida, began selling Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite that, when mixed with water and a citric acid activator, turns into chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach. The Grenons claimed that ingesting MMS could treat, prevent, and cure COVID-19.
The product was sold after the foursome set up a fake Florida church website which conned thousands of people across the US, in 2010. The sales continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Drug Administration never approved MMS for treatment of COVID-19, or for any other use and strongly urged consumers not to purchase or use MMS for any reason.
It explained how consuming MMS was the same as drinking bleach and could cause dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure. In April 2020, the feds cracked down on the enterprise after the Grenons defied FDA orders to stop distributing the toxic substance.
Their defiance of the court order ultimately led to criminal charges and a raid on their home in Bradenton, south of Tampa Bay, where investigators found loaded guns, nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder and thousands of bottles of MMS.