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In the wake of a newly declared pandemic, a well-known televangelist is facing a lawsuit filed the state of Missouri after touting a so-called coronavirus cure.
Jim Bakker, along with Morningside Church Productions, claimed that a “Silver Solution” could cure a virus health authorities have recently declared a pandemic in the United States – coronavirus.
The product at issue includes Silver Solution, also called “Silver Sol” and “Optivida Silver Solution.” The Missouri Attorney General’s Office contends that Bakker has been targeting the elderly with claims that the product boosts the immune system and can even act as a coronavirus cure.
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Bakker, a former televangelist with a reportedly scandalous past, runs his show through Morningside Church, a for-profit entity.
According to the state of Missouri’s complaint, “On the Jim Bakker Show, aired on multiple networks across the country, and on Jim Bakker Show website Defendants solicited the business of Missouri and non-Missouri consumers to purchase Silver Solution as a product to ‘support your immune system,’ ‘speed up natural processes that have positive effects on the body,’ and ‘resonating at just the right frequency’… to … ‘disrupt foreign elements without disturbing the body’s natural environment.’”
The coronavirus cure lawsuit details a conversation Bakker had with Sherill Sellman, a “naturopathic doctor,” about Silver Solution. According to the complaint, Bakker and Sellman claim that the product can eliminate, kill, and totally deactivate certain stains of the coronavirus.
Sellman then stated “Silver Sol has been proven by the government that it has the ability to kill every pathogen it has ever been tested on including SARS and HIV.”
Bakker allegedly recommends that viewers make an $80 to $125 donation to receive the so-called coronavirus cure.
Is There a Coronavirus Cure?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the novel coronavirus, also called COVID-19, is a new strain in the coronavirus family. It is distinct from other coronaviruses that are common and cause mild illnesses, like the common cold.
The problem with this novel coronavirus is that humans have not developed any immunities to the disease, and there currently is no vaccine or other “coronavirus cure.”
The virus first surfaced in the Wuhan region of China. Despite containment efforts, the coronavirus spreads easily, according to the CDC, and is now found in counties around the world.
If the face of mounting public panic over the spread of the disease, some have touted “coronavirus cures.”
According to a report by The Washington Post, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have warned seven companies over marketing their products as coronavirus cures, including Jim Bakker and Morningside Church.
The FDA’s letter to Bakker and his company states, “there are currently no vaccines, potions, lotions, lozenges or other prescription or over-the-counter products available to treat or cure coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).”
Bakker’s product, Silver Solution, contains colloidal silver. Although Bakker claims the product works to boost the immune system by “resonating at just the right frequency,” the National Institutes of Health say that side effects of the product may be dangerous and include turning the skin a blue-gray color.
In its complaint, the state of Missouri alleges that Bakker’s coronavirus cure violates the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and are seeking an injunction stopping the sale of Silver Solution.
“Because Defendants have engaged in, and are likely to continue to engage in, unfair practices, immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage is likely to result in the absence of relief,” states the coronavirus cure lawsuit.
Silver Solution and related products have reportedly been removed from the Jim Bakker Show’s online store since the FDA’s warning letter, Missouri’s lawsuit, and a cease and desist order issued by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
However, in a statement to The Washington Post, representatives for Bakker stated, “We believe in Optivida Silver Solution … because of the research and the advice from medical professionals that we respect. What has cemented that belief comes from the countless testimonies of its benefits and what we have seen and experienced ourselves.”
Bakker is not the only one attempting to profit from public concern over the spread of the coronavirus. According to The Washington Post, consumers have had to be warned against certain so-called cures, such as eating garlic soup or gargling saltwater.
Other, more dangerous activities represented as coronavirus cures include drinking a supplement containing chlorine, drinks laced with methanol, and using “skin sanitizer” that led to burns.
The State of Missouri is represented by Attorney General Eric S. Schmitt of the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
The Coronavirus Cure Lawsuit is State of Missouri v. Bakker, et al., Case No. not available, in the Circuit Court of Stone County, Missouri.
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20 thoughts onTelevangelist Jim Bakker Faces Lawsuit After Selling Fake ‘Coronavirus Cure’
add me
Add me
Pls add me
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Add Me
add me. He made me puke. He is evil.
I have read them all and bc I want a cure so my life can get back to order I believed a solution is out there. Call me crazy but I just want to survive. Please add me to the lawsuit. Bakker should be ashamed of himself. And the hand sanitizer well my hands were getting red and sore.
Add me