Jim Bakker, TV preacher felled by scandals, dies at 86
US televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a multimillion-dollar evangelical empire before being brought down by a sex scandal and fraud conviction, died on Monday at age 86. His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced his death on social media. Bakker was convicted in 1989 of defrauding followers in a scheme involving vacation packages at his Heritage USA theme park.
US televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a multimillion-dollar evangelical empire before being brought down by a sex scandal and fraud conviction, died on Monday at age 86. His second wife, Lori Bakker, announced his death on social media, calling him a "pioneer of Christian television." The cause and circumstances of his death were not revealed. Bakker rose to fame through "The PTL Club" in the 1980s, which drew 13 million viewers on 200 TV stations and raked in $129 million a year. He was convicted in 1989 on all 24 fraud and conspiracy charges for defrauding followers of $158 million by selling promises of lifetime annual vacations at his Heritage USA Christian theme park and resort. Prosecutors said he siphoned $3.7 million to bankroll a lavish lifestyle. He spent 4-1/2 years in prison. Bakker had quit the PTL ministry in 1987 after revelations of a 1980 sexual encounter with a church secretary and a subsequent $265,000 payoff with ministry funds. He was later defrocked. After prison, he revived his career as a television preacher with a new wife and a new show in 2003, later becoming a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. In 2020, he drew scrutiny for selling a false treatment for COVID-19.