Watch CBS News

Feds charge phony church with selling toxic bleach as COVID-19 cure

How to avoid scams during coronavirus outbreak
Here's how to avoid scams and cybercriminals during coronavirus pandemic 02:47

A Florida father and sons have continued to sell a potentially deadly bleach product billed as a miracle cure for COVID-19 through a fake church, despite a federal judge ordering them to stop, federal officials said in filing criminal charges against them. 

Mark Grenon and three sons — Jonathan, Jordon and Joseph — are charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and distribute mislabeled drugs, according to the suit filed in the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday. 

According to the criminal complaint, the four allegedly pitched "Miracle Mineral Solution," or MMS, a toxic bleach, as a cure for COVID-19. 

"They sold this dangerous product under the guise of Genesis II Church of Health and Healing ("Genesis"), an entity they allegedly created in an attempt to avoid government regulation of MMS," according to a statement detailing the allegations. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration "has received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and dying after drinking MMS," noted the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Florida, which did not elaborate further.

The government had already filed civil charges against Grenon and his adult children and obtained a court order barring them from continuing to market MMS. The family responded by threatening violence against the judge in the case, federal officials said.

Quackery: A history of fake medicine and cure-alls 06:59

"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. 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," Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said in the statement.

Grenon, of Bradentown, Florida, and his offspring could not be reached for comment. 

The family earned $500,000 in 2019 selling their potions to thousands of vulnerable Americans, according to the Justice Department. Profits surged in March 2020, when the family began falsely touting MMS as a cure for the novel coronavirus and taking in about $123,000 during the month, the feds said.

That's even though the FDA has for years warned consumers not to buy or drink chlorine dioxide products such as MMS sold as medical treatments. 

The legal action comes as part of a government effort to stymie scams related to the pandemic, with consumers pitched phony cure-alls or immunity when there is no known vaccine or cure for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

mms-bleach-cu-art-06.jpg
Photo used as part of U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning urging consumers not to drink "Miracle Mineral Solution" sold by Genesis Church in 2019. U.S. Food and Drug Administration
View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.