Jim Bakker, the well-known televangelist and the soon-to-be subject of the historical drama film The Eyes of Tammy Faye, has undoubtedly caused his fair share of controversy over the years.
Jim Bakker has a long history of legal trouble, from the PTL Club controversy to his most recent brush with the authorities over false claims about the coronavirus. However, I wonder if Jim is still alive. Learn the latest details regarding his life by reading on.
Does Jim Bakker Still Exist? Tammy Faye, His Ex-Wife, Passed Away in 2007.
In 1960, Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye LaValley met each other at Minnesota’s North Central University. They struck it off right away and were married in April of 1961. The group dropped out of university life to become traveling evangelists, and their journey took them from California to North Carolina. There, they first aired their notorious late-night discussion program, The PTL Club.
Jim’s ministry ended in 1987 after a series of controversies, including allegations of sexual misconduct and the failure of a religious theme park called Heritage USA. Nonetheless, the difficulties surrounding Jim and his family persisted, and in 1985, a confidential investigation by the IRS revealed that the Bakkers had misappropriated $1.3 million in ministry monies for “personal profit” between the years 1980 and 1983.
The PTL Club and Jim were eventually charged with fraud for selling “lifetime memberships” to consumers for $1,000 each, with each purchaser promised a three-night stay each year at a luxury hotel that was never built by Heritage USA. Jim was charged with one count of conspiracy, eight charges of mail fraud, fifteen counts of wire fraud, and eighteen total counts of fraud in 1988. The judge ruled that he was guilty on all 24 counts, and he was given a starting sentence of 45 years in jail.
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Nonetheless, a fresh sentencing hearing for Jim was held in 1991, and his sentence was reduced to eight years in prison with parole eligibility after serving only five. After being released from prison in 1994, he discovered an outstanding tax debt of $4 million. Jim and Tammy Faye got a divorce in 1992, and he wedded a lady called Lori shortly after his 2003 return to television. The Jim Bakker Show, produced by Jim and his church since 2003, airs daily on Morningside Church Productions Inc.
Although it was announced on The Jim Bakker Show Instagram that he suffered a stroke in May 2020, not long after his current controversy, Jim Bakker is still very much with us today. Jim’s most recent case involves false claims about coronavirus treatments.
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Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt Filed Suit Against Jim Bakker in March 2020.
The Early Stages of The Coronavirus Pandemic Were Marked by A Frantic Search for Any Means of Alleviating the Lethal Symptoms Caused by The Virus, Including Solutions that Were Not Therapies at All. Forbes claims that In March of 2020, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt Filed a Lawsuit Against Jim Bakker and The Jim Bakker Show to Stop Bakker from Promoting and Selling “silver Solution” as A Cure for The Virus.
Jim and A Guest Named Sherrill Sellman, Who Bakker Called a “naturopathic Doctor,” Were Named in A Lawsuit for Making Misleading Claims that Silver Solution Could Treat Coronavirus. in Exchange for A Payment of $80-$125 to The Church, Jim Offered to Provide his “solution” to customers. As part of a settlement submitted on August 31, 2021, he must now pay $156,000 to his viewers.