Michael Tran/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — New York’s attorney general has ordered a prominent televangelist to stop peddling an alleged coronavirus elixir on his show.Attorney General Letitia James’s office sent a cease-and-desist order to Jim Bakker Tuesday ordering him to stop promoting “Silver Solution” as a remedy for the coronavirus.During a Feb. 12 episode of the The Jim Bakker Show, guest Sherrill Sellman claimed that Silver Solution was able to eliminate some strains of the coronavirus.Asked if the Silver Solution would be effective against the COVID-19 coronavirus, Sellman replied, “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.”However the World Health Organization has warned that there is currently no treatment for the novel coronavirus, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no known cure for other coronavirus variants that cause SARS and MERS.”Your show’s segment may mislead consumers as to the effectiveness of the Silver Solution product in protecting against the current outbreak,” the cease-and-desist order said. “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.”The product is available for purchase on the show’s website. The attorney general ordered Bakker to stop promoting the product as a coronavirus cure or treatment and to put a disclaimer on its site that says the product hasn’t been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.James’ office gave Bakker 10 days to show that it complied with the order, or face legal action.“In addition to being mindful about our health, we must also beware of unscrupulous actors who attempt to take advantage of this fear and anxiety to scam or deceive consumers,” James said in a statement.Messages to Bakker for comment weren’t immediately returned.Bakker was convicted in 1989 on multiple counts of fraud after he stole millions of dollars in a fundraising scandal. He spent five years in prison before returning to TV in 2003. Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
