Florida Family Sentenced for Selling Bleach as Miracle COVID-19 Cure

Members of a Florida family have now been sentenced to prison for selling fake COVID-19 cures and using their fake church as a front to sell these dangerous fake medicines to the public.

The father, Mark Grenon, 66, has been sentenced along with his three sons on several charges. The elder Grenon and his second son, Joseph Grenon, 36, who fled to Colombia with his father but were later arrested and extradited, were each sentenced to five years in prison.

According to the New York Post, this was the maximum sentence that the US agreed with Colombia over the father-son duo's extradition. Both men, along with the two other defendants, were also fined $2,000 each in restitution.

The other two sons, 37-year-old Jonathan Grenon and 29-year-old Jordan Grenon, were each sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. Their charges include conspiracy and contempt for trying to "defraud the United States by distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug."

"The defendants preyed on many vulnerable populations," said Assistant US Attorney Michael Homer during the sentencing hearing.

The Florida family members were all accused of using their Genesis II Church of Health and Healing to sell their fake COVID-19 cures that they claim can cure not just COVID but cancer and other illnesses as well. In reality, however, it was just bleach and may actually poison those taking it.

Florida Family Patriarch Accused the US Government of Kidnapping Them

Meanwhile, the father, Mark Grenon, who also fled to Colombia and was extradited, accused the US government of kidnapping them. During the sentencing hearing, he argued that he had already spent 1,152 days in custody and that this already amounted to kidnapping.

Mark Grenon then claimed that the US government should compensate him $5.76 million for being "held unlawfully." However, the Miami Herald reported that US District Judge Cecilia Altonaga shot him down and called his argument "nonsensical."

She also ordered the elder Grenon to pay an additional $1,948 in restitution to the victims of his family's fake COVID-19 cure scheme. The Florida family members were all portrayed as "con men who used a phony religious front on a website" to sell the "Miracle Mineral Solution," which they claim can cure all sorts of ailments.

Florida Family Called 'Snake Oil Salesmen' and 'Con Men' for Selling Fake COVID-19 Cure

The Grenon family's Genesis II Church of Health and Healing made around $1 million by selling their so-called Miracle Mineral Solution. The church itself released videos endorsing the false cure, claiming that it can treat "95% of known diseases, including COVID-19, Alzheimer's, autism, brain cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis."

This led the US Food and Drug Administration to issue warnings against their so-called "cure-all" and told the public that taking it could have dangerous side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure.

According to CBS News, it got so bad that after the FDA received reports of people getting hospitalized after taking the fake COVID-19 cure, a Miami federal judge ordered the church to stop selling it in 2020.

However, the order was ignored as the church continued to sell the substance. This led to warrants being approved against the members of the Florida family, with two of them escaping to Colombia.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: 'Church of Bleach' family found guilty of selling fake COVID-19 cure through online church - ABC7