Bradenton Man Who Sold Bleach As 'Miracle' Fake COVID Cure Extradited To Miami: DOJ

MIAMI, FL — A Bradenton man accused of selling toxic bleach as a fake miracle cure for COVID-19 was extradited from Colombia to Miami, making his first appearance in federal court Thursday.

Mark Grenon 64, who led the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, is charged with fraudulently marketing and selling Miracle Mineral Solution, as well as defying court orders, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

Miracle Mineral Solution is a toxic industrial bleach that Grenon claimed was a cure for COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, autism, malaria, hepatitis, Parkinson’s, herpes, HIV/AIDS and other serious medical conditions, the agency said.

His sons, 36-year-old Jonathan Grenon, 28-year-old Jordan Grenon and 34-year-old Joseph Grenon also face charges in the scheme.

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury, the Grenons — who are all from Bradenton — manufactured, promoted and sold a product they named Miracle Mineral Solution. It’s a chemical solution containing sodium chlorite and water that, when ingested orally, becomes chlorine dioxide, a powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp and paper, the DOJ said.

The Grenons claimed that ingesting the solution could treat, prevent and cure COVID-19, according to the charges. The FDA, however, never approved it for treatment of the virus or for any other use.

The FDA issued warnings, urging customers not to purchase or use the product and explaining that drinking the solution is the same as drinking bleach. Dangerous side effects included severe vomiting, diarrhea and life-threatening low blood pressure, the DOJ said.

The FDA received reports that people were hospitalized, developed life-threatening conditions and even died after drinking the solution.

Even before the pandemic, the family marketing the product as a cure for dozens of other serious diseases and disorders, according to the indictment.

The Grenons sold tens of thousands of bottles of Miracle Mineral Solution nationwide, including to consumers throughout South Florida, under the name Genesis II Church of Health and Healing. They created this entity, which is described on their website as a "non-religious church," to avoid government regulation of the solution, the DOJ said.

Mark Grenon has repeatedly acknowledged that Genesis II “has nothing to do with religion” and that he founded it to “legalize the use of (the solution)” and avoid jail time, according to the indictment.

It could only be acquired through a "donation" to Genesis, though the "donations" were for specific dollar amounts and mandatory, making them "effectively just sales prices," the DOJ said. Genesis received more than $1 million from selling Miracle Mineral Solution, authorities said.

The Grenons were also charged with criminal contempt for willfully violating federal court orders to stop distributing the solution. The DOJ said they threatened a federal judge that if the U.S. government tried to enforce the court orders, they'd "pick up guns" and instigate "a Waco."

During the federal investigation into the Grenons, investigators learned they were making the solution in a shed in Jonathan Grenon's Bradenton back yard. Officers seized dozens of blue chemical drums containing nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder, thousands of bottles of the product, and other items used in the manufacture and distribution of it. The government also recovered multiple loaded firearms, including a pump-action shotgun concealed in a custom-made violin case to disguise its appearance, according to the prosecutors.

Jonathan and Jordan Grenon were arrested in the summer of 2020 based on a criminal complaint filed by Miami federal prosecutors.

Mark and Joseph Grenon were detained in Colombia in August 2021.