SPOKANE, Wash. — Two people from the Spokane area and two people from Oregon are charged with selling an ingredient for bleach online as a cure-all for arthritis, cancer and the flu.
49-year-old Chris Olson and 50-year-old Tammy Olson, of Nine Mile Falls, Wash. faced a federal judge Wednesday.
Prosecutors said they were involved in a business called Project GreenLife, which imported sodium chlorite from Canada, and that they sold the chemical online as a "miracle mineral supplement." Buyers were instructed to mix it with orange juice or other source of citric acid before drinking it.
Mixing sodium chlorite with citric acid makes chlorine dioxide — a powerful bleach. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was injured by consuming it.
Charges include conspiracy, smuggling and interstate sales of misbranded drugs.
42-year-old Louis Daniel Smith and 38-year-old Karis Delong, both of Ashland, Ore., are also charged with the crime.
