Jim Bakker's legacy as a televangelist is marked by both a significant religious influence and a history of scandal and legal troubles.

US Televangelist Jim Bakker who built a faith-based empire before resigning amid sex scandal, who then served time in prison for defrauding his followers in the 1980s, has died. He was 86. Bakker rebuilt his TV ministry, eventually catering to MAGA and prepper types. Along with his wife Tammy Faye, he co-founded Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) with Paul and Jan Crouch. After a falling-out between Jim Bakker and Paul Crouch, the Bakker founded Praise The Lord (PTL) and built their own global Christian defrauding enterprise. Following a sixteen-month federal grand jury probe, Bakker was indicted in 1988 on eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. Convicted, In 1989, after a five-week trial which began on August 28 in Charlotte, the jury found him guilty on all 24 counts, and was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. On November 16, 1992, Bakker's sentence was reduced to eight years, and, and was subsequently granted parole in July 1994, after serving almost five years of his sentence. Bakker rebuilt his tv "ministry," and in 2015 purchased the trademark to PTL and rebranded it to PTL. In 2020, he suffered a stroke but returned to his show several months later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker

#CNN #News Televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a faith-based empire before resigning amid scandal, dies at 86 https://w.st/yvjae