By Tim Stelloh - NBC News
A Florida man and his three children were charged in federal court with selling tens of thousands of bottles of bleach that they passed off as a "miracle cure" against coronavirus and other illnesses.
Mark Grenon and his sons, Jonathan, Jordan and Joseph Grenon, were charged with fraud and violating civil court orders telling them to stop selling bleach as a cure for coronavirus and promoting it as a "miracle mineral solution." according to documents filed Friday in the southern district of Florida.
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that this chlorine dioxide solution is life threatening and is generally used for industrial water treatment.
Court documents filed in the civil case allege that in a podcast published last year, Mark Grenon referred to the Second Amendment and threatened a federal judge over a court order that stopped the sale of his product, claiming he was committing "treason. ".
"Do you want a Waco?" He allegedly asked, referring to the authorities' siege of a religious sect in Texas that left 76 dead in 1993.
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April 26, 202102: 17
According to court documents, the family manufactured the solution in a shed in Bradenton's backyard, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Tampa.
The product was marketed and sold as a panacea for cancer, autism, diabetes and other disorders and diseases
among a group known as the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, according to the documents.
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The family began increasing income, from an average of $ 32,000 a month to $ 123,000, after marketing the solution as a cure for COVID-19 in March 2020, according to the indictment, which says it
made more than $ 1 million. selling more than 28,000 bottles
.
During a raid on the Bradenton property, authorities discovered dozens of chemical drums, 10,000 pounds of sodium nitrate and thousands of bottles of the solution, according to a press release from the South Florida prosecutor's office.
Two of the sons, Jonathan and Jordan Grenon, were arrested and will be arraigned Monday, the statement said.
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Mark and Joseph Grenon are in Colombia, according to the statement, which does not provide additional details on their location.
It is not clear if the family has lawyers as it is not reflected in the court records.
