Offalon, Missouri (Associated Press)-Jim Bakker and his church in southwest Missouri will pay $156,000 in damages to resolve a lawsuit accusing the TV pastor of false claims Health products can cure COVID-19.
Missouri court records show that a settlement agreement was filed on Tuesday. It requires refunds to people who paid money or donated money in the early stages of the pandemic to obtain a product called Silver Solution.
The settlement agreement also prohibits Bakker and Morningside Church Productions Inc. from advertising or selling Silver Solutions that "diagnose, prevent, alleviate, treat, or cure any disease or condition." Buck did not admit wrongdoing in the agreement.
Eric Schmidt, the Republican Attorney General of Missouri, sued Bakker and Morningside in March 2020. Schmidt sought an injunction and ordered Bakker to stop selling Silver Solution as a treatment for COVID-19 in its streaming TV show The Jim Bakker Show. The lawsuit alleges that Buck and a guest made a request for healing in 11 episodes in February and March 2020.
Schmidt said at a news conference on Wednesday that Buck had already compensated many consumers and must pay another $90,000 to others.
The hour-long Jim Buck show was filmed in southwest Missouri. The agreement stated that during the program, Silver Solution was provided to those who agreed to donate between US$80 and US$125.
Baker’s lawyers-Derek Ankerrom and former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon-said in a joint statement that Buck and Morningside Church Productions are happy to leave the matter behind. They can "continue the important work of the Morningside Church." They pointed out that the agreement "did not find our customers violated any laws or misled" consumers.
Nixon previously claimed that "those who want to crush his ministry and force his Christian TV show to stop" unfairly targeted Buck, and Buck did not claim that silver solution can cure COVID-19.
The lawsuit cited discussions on the plan on February 12, 2020, in which Buck spoke with Sheryl Selman, calling her a "naturopathic doctor" and a "natural health expert."
"Do you mean that Silver Solution will be effective for this flu that has swept the world?" Becker asked. According to the lawsuit, Selman replied: "Well, suppose it has not been tested on this strain of coronavirus, but it has been tested on other strains of coronavirus, and it can be eliminated within 12 hours."
"Destroy it completely, kill it. Deactivate it," Selman replied according to the lawsuit.
Also in March 2020, U.S. regulators warned Bakker's company and six other companies to stop using the government's so-called false claims that they can treat the coronavirus or prevent people from contracting the coronavirus. A joint letter issued by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission warned these companies that the products they used to treat COVID-19 were fraudulent, "posed a significant risk to the health of patients and violated federal law."
Silver solution is a type of colloidal silver consisting of silver particles suspended in a liquid. This solution is often described by manufacturers as having the ability to strengthen the immune system and cure diseases. But according to officials from the National Center for Complementary and Comprehensive Health, a federal scientific research agency, there are no known benefits to the body when ingested.
Experts say that ingesting colloidal silver can cause serious side effects. NCCIH states that when silver accumulates in body tissues, it makes the skin blue.
Nixon served as governor for two terms from 2009 to 2017 and is now a partner of the Dowd Bennett law firm in St. Louis. He stated that Barker immediately followed the order after receiving the warning letter and stopped offering Silver on his program and department website. Solution comes from FDA and FTC.
At the same time, the Attorney General of Arkansas filed a similar lawsuit with Missouri in June 2020. The case is still under trial.