The grifter/scammer/absolute fraud seems to always pop up in the event of a crisis. They typically come through with the one magical fix to cure whatever ailment is plaguing society. The novel coronavirus(COVID-19) outbreak has proven to be no different.
According to ABC News, the office for New York Attorney General Letitia James has sent a cease-and-desist order to televangelist Jim Bakker. Bakker has been peddling “Silver Solution” as a cure for the virus on his TV show. On Feb. 12, Sherrill Sellman appeared on the show and said that Silver Solution was able to cure certain strains of coronavirus. When asked if the product was effective against COVID-19, Sellman said, “Let’s say it hasn’t been tested on this strain of the coronavirus, but it’s been tested on other strains of the coronavirus and it has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours.”
According to the World Health Organization, there is currently no treatment for COVID-19. Additionally, the CDC has said no cure has been found for SARS or MERS which are variants of coronavirus. So, yeah, it’s looking like Silver Solution is a whole ass lie.
The cease-and-desist order said, “Your show’s segment may mislead consumers as to the effectiveness of the Silver Solution product in protecting against the current outbreak. Any representation on the Jim Bakker Show that its Silver Solution products are effective at combating and/or treating the 2019 novel coronavirus violates New York law.”
Silver Solution is available for purchase on the show’s website. The order demanded that Bakker stop selling it as a remedy for coronavirus and to disclose on the site that the product hasn’t been tested by the Food and Drug Administration. Bakker has 10 days to comply with the order or he will face legal consequences.
This isn’t the first time Bakker has faced the law over a lie. In 1989 he was convicted on multiple counts of fraud. He served five years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from his Praise The Lord Ministries fundraisers.
All I’m saying is if a remedy seems too good to be true and it’s being sold by a person with a history of lying, you might want to be wary. Chances are you’re just buying bougie water.