Pricey Miracle Cure Is|Toxic Bleach, Texas Says

HOUSTON (CN) — A Texan doing business as a Church of Health and Healing sold poisonous bleach as a "Miracle Mineral Solution" to cure "95 percent of all known diseases," the state attorney in Houston says.

Shane Hawkins, of Angleton, who calls himself the bishop of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, No. 119, sold chlorine dioxide, "a powerful bleaching agent," as a cure for cancer, diabetes, autism, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, hepatitis, and, of course, the common cold, Texas says in its May 6 complaint in Harris County Court.

He and his promoters claim that his Miracle Mineral Solution "'is able to overcome most diseases known to mankind' and 'hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved' with MMS, coupled with questionable testimonials from some of the '20,000,000' users of MMS," the Harris County attorney says in the complaint.

Chlorine dioxide can be used as a water purifier when used in small amounts. But Hawkins and his church push doses that "can cause severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and can be life-threatening," the prosecutor says.

Hawkins pushed the bleach in "seminars" at Houston hotels, where he demanded "a $500 cash 'donation' at the door," which also got you a church membership for a year and a "Reverend Certificate," the states says.

But there's more: Hawkins guaranteed that "Those who finish the course are promised that they will know 'how to restore health from 95 percent of the diseases of mankind' and may 'legally' use 'Dr.' as a prefix to their name," the prosecutor says, citing promos for the church, which "has no known affiliation with any legitimate religious organization."

The seminars are also known as "sacraments."

Hawkins has been doing this in Houston for "at least about a year," the prosecutor says.

MMS promoters in other states have been convicted of fraud by federal and state law enforcement, the complaint states.

"Another promoter, who claimed MMS should be given to cure autism in children, was investigated by state authorities in Illinois," the complaint states.

Robert Soard, first assistant for the Harris County attorney's office, said the state's "immediate goal is to stop distribution" of MMS, but criminal prosecutions are a possibility.

Soard said his office intends to start court proceedings before Hawkins' next seminar in July.

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