Televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86
The pioneer of 1980s TV religion, extravagant luxury, and colossal federal fraud convictions has officially checked out.
Long before modern crypto influencers existed, televangelists like Jim Bakker and his then-wife Tammy Faye basically perfected running wild financial schemes on broadcast television. In their peak 1980s glory, their PTL empire pulled in millions while devout viewers sent in their life savings to secure front-row seats in heaven.
Then the entire gold-plated house of cards came down. In 1987, it was revealed that church funds had been funneled into a massive $265,000 hush-money payoff for church secretary Jessica Hahn. Federal prosecutors eventually nailed him on 24 fraud counts for siphoning millions of dollars from followers to bankroll an absurdly lavish lifestyle, resulting in a prison term.
Most people would crawl under a rock after a national scandal and federal time, but Bakker simply did his years, walked back out, and launched another broadcast show peddling survival gear for the end times well into his eighties.
The classic hustle never really ends; it just gets repackaged for syndication.
Source: UPI
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