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The upcoming episode of ABC's true crime series, The Con, focuses on controversial televangelist Jim Bakker. Titled The Comeback, the episode, which is set to air on Thursday, September 1, 2022, will delve deep into Bakker's allegedly fraudulent attempts to con his followers.
Viewers can look forward to a gripping episode, which will uncover the numerous controversial and mysterious aspects of Bakker's activities. Ahead of the much-anticipated episode's release on Thursday, take a look at five crucial things to know about him.
The Con on ABC: Here are some byte-sized facts about Jim Bakker
1) Jim and his wife Tammy initially worked at CBN
Jim met his future wife Tammy at North Central University in 1960. A year later, they married and left college to pursue a career in evangelism.
During their early days, the couple worked at the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), where they anchored a popular children's show titled Come On Over. They enjoyed a highly successful stint at CBN, before quitting in 1972 to co-found Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).
The Bakkers left TBN within eight months.
2) Rise to fame with PTL
After quitting TBN in less than a year, they found massive success in the mid-late 70s with their popular talk show called The PTL Club, which debuted in 1976 on the PTL Satellite Network. The network had been founded by Jim Bakker in 1974.
Owing to the immense success of their show, the Bakkers went on to build a sprawling resort and theme park called Heritage USA. The park opened in 1978 and attracted approximately six million viewers by 1986.
3) Allegations of s*xual misconduct by Jessica Hahn
In the late 80s, Jim Bakker was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman named Jessica Hahn, who worked as church secretary at PTL.
Hahn reportedly accused Bakker and John Wesley Fletcher (another PTL pastor) of r*ping her in a hotel room in Florida. Bakker then allegedly paid Hahn hush money, which later became public, following which he quit PTL.
4) Conviction for accounting fraud
Suspicions about The PTL Club's fundraising activities rose in the mid-80s when it was alleged that Bakker had defrauded his followers in order to secure funds.
According to History, Bakker was indicted in October 1988 on eight counts of mail fraud, along with 15 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. He was ultimately convicted in 1989 and received a 45-year sentence.
However, he was released from prison after serving only five years of his sentence.
5) The controversial COVID cure
In 2020, Jim Bakker was once again in the news after he advertised the ''Silver Solution,'' on his talk show. He claimed that the solution could cure the coronavirus.
Health authorities deemed the solution to be toxic, and warned that upon consumption, it could permanently change the consumer's skin color.
Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed against Jim Bakker by the Missouri and Arkansas governments, which ended in a settlement, wherein Bakker and his church were ordered to pay restitution of $156,000, as per AP News.
Apart from that, the settlement also demanded for Bakker and his church to stop selling the solution. Bakker, however, continues to claim innoncence.
Don't miss the upcoming episode about Jim Bakker on ABC's The Con, airing this Thursday, September 1, 2022.
