Bakker Guilty of Fleecing His TV Flock of Millions

Defrocked television minister Jim Bakker, meeting his day of reckoning after a long, dizzying fall from grace, was convicted Thursday by a federal jury of defrauding his followers of $3.7 million.

After two days of deliberation, jurors found Bakker guilty on every count of a 24-count indictment for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. The indictment charged that he oversold time-shares at a religious retreat being built by his PTL ministry.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 24. Maximum sentence would be 120 years in prison and a $5-million fine.

After hearing the verdict, Bakker spent about three hours in custody at the downtown federal courthouse before posting $25,000, 10% of the $250,000 bail. While he is out on bail, Bakker must report daily to a parole officer.

His wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, appeared on the courthouse steps and launched into the hymn “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Cutting it short, she said: “It’s not over ‘til it’s over. I have a great faith in the God I serve.”

Bakker later told reporters outside the building that he was still innocent and vowed to appeal his conviction.

“I went into the courtroom several weeks ago telling you that my faith is in God. I want to tell you my faith is still in God,” he said. “I went into the courtroom innocent of the charges against me, and I come out today still innocent of the charges against me.”

Commenting on the swift verdict, Ricky Hill, the jury foreman, said: “We kept looking for something from the defense and couldn’t find anything.”

U.S. Atty. Tom Ashcraft said: “With today’s verdict reality has finally dawned for Jim Bakker. He refused to behave responsibly of his own accord at PTL, so a jury of his peers imposed responsibility on him in a court of law.”

Federal prosecutor Deborah Smith, who cross-examined Bakker during his two days on the stand, said: “The message is you can’t lie to people, and you can’t use television and the mails to lie to people and ask them to send you money.”

But George Davis, Bakker’s attorney, said: “We will appeal. There is a court that we can go to where I think we’ll get justice.”

At its height, Bakker’s PTL television show was seen on hundreds of cable television stations. Bakker’s ministry took in millions of dollars monthly, and was embarked on the construction of a religious theme park, “Heritage USA,” in Ft. Mill, S.C.

Sexual Encounter Revealed

His long descent began in 1987 when his sexual encounter with church secretary Jessica Hahn came to light. He resigned and fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell took over the PTL. Shortly thereafter the ministry declared bankruptcy, and in December last year Bakker and three aides were indicted on fraud charges.

Prosecutors said that he oversold “lifetime partnerships” that were supposed to provide the “partners” lodging at Heritage USA. Typically the partnerships cost $1,000 and promised three nights lodging each year for life. The indictment charges that 66,683 partnerships were sold, even though Bakker had made the “false and fraudulent” claim that only 25,000 would be sold.

Prosecutors charged that not enough lodging was built and that the once-charismatic TV preacher and his close aides diverted $3.7 million of the $158 million they raised, using it to support decadent life styles. Meanwhile, prosecutors said, Bakker concealed PTL’s ill financial health from his board.

In addition, the indictment charged that Bakker authorized a $265,000 hush-money payment from PTL funds to Hahn. The money was drawn from an account designated for construction of the Passion play amphitheater, the indictment says.

Judge Expresses Concern

Immediately following the verdict, U.S. District Judge Robert Potter decided in a contentious hearing to allow Bakker to go free on the $250,000 bond, despite what the judge said was his concern that Bakker’s supporters might hide him if he chose to flee.

Bakker’s supporters are “so zealous,” Potter said, “they have a Jim Jones mentality,” referring to the cult leader who led hundreds to suicide a decade ago.

The judge’s comment caused Tammy Faye Bakker to groan derisively. “Ohhhh!” she said and shrank back into her seat.

That was the strongest reaction from either Bakker during the proceeding. The convicted preacher, dapper in an ensemble of taupe pants and patterned jacket, sat impassively as his fate was pronounced, occasionally grasping the defense table in front of him.

His wife, wearing a red suit and huge round white earrings, usually sat motionless, her left hand supporting her head. Silently, she seemed to cry. At one point she shook her head no when the prosecution implied that Bakker might flee or harm himself by taking prescription medicine.

Outside the gray, two-story courthouse, pandemonium reigned, as hundreds of spectators and reporters chased jurors and principals in the case.

Several vocal Bakker followers castigated the judge and jury, insisting Bakker is innocent and declaring he is still a pillar of religious strength.

“God has not changed since the days of the Bible,” said Bea Martin angrily. “He can break down the walls of the prisons. Jim will clear out the prisons. He will get the prisoners saved.”

Throughout the often-zany 22-day trial, which was interrupted by Hurricane Hugo and earlier by Bakker’s own breakdown during which he reportedly hallucinated in a “panic attack” and put his head under a couch, the 49-year-old televangelist was portrayed by prosecutors Smith and Jerry Miller as a money-grubbing con man, a liar and a cheat who bilked believers out of hard-got money through slick appeals over television and through the mails.

Of the 24 counts against Bakker, one through eight were mail fraud; nine through 23 wire fraud (television), and count 24 was for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

For their part, defense lawyers Davis and Harold Bender portrayed Bakker as a visionary, a humanitarian, a man of God who knew how to build a Christian empire but knew little about finances--even his own--and certainly not PTL’s.

Under cross-examination Smith asked Bakker: “Had your life style become so extravagant that you wouldn’t have noticed a $50,000 bonus?”

“I did not look at my checkbook for several years,” Bakker answered.

Bakker’s defense included numerous memory lapses, assertions that he was ill-informed about the workings of PTL, claims that PTL computers did not work, that associates were out to get him and denials that he knew of PTL’s money problems. Prosecutors on Thursday called him their best witness.

At one point, Bakker tried to show that PTL actually had plans to build enough lodging for 211,062 partners, but Potter, known here as “Maximum Bob,” refused to allow jurors to be shown Bakker’s charts detailing his calculations.

Cites Constitution

Underlying Bakker’s defense was the constitutional argument that an overbearing federal government was infringing on the right to worship, violating First Amendment rights. Bakker’s emotional appeal centered on the claim that he had been an awesome crusader for Christ, who did good for the masses by spreading religion over the airwaves.

“TV is the most powerful medium in the world today,” Bakker testified. “I felt the message of Jesus Christ should be propagated over that medium.”

Altogether, almost 200 witnesses testified in the trial as the two sides tried alternately to prove that Bakker had either defrauded the partners or stood by the contracts.

Their stories were graphic and passionate, as prosecution partners told of unfulfilled promises and defense partners praised their lodgings at Heritage USA.

Many of the unsatisfied prosecution witnesses said they were suing the bankrupt ministry to get back their $1,000 investments.

Following the verdict Thursday, Thomas T. Anderson, an attorney for the angry partners, said he was “encouraged by today’s verdict,” but he added that it is “merely the first step in the process. The victims of Mr. Bakker’s actions have not been made whole.”

Former Allies Testify

As in many a classic tale of a meteoric rise and a precipitous fall, perhaps the most damning witnesses were erstwhile close allies. Bakker’s former PTL associates, Richard Dortch, James Taggart and his brother, David, all of whom are destined for prison on charges growing out of the PTL scandal, gave devastating testimony.

Dortch, with serious demeanor, testified for five hours, saying that Bakker deceived viewers about how many lifetime partnerships were being sold and that PTL money was being used to pay operating expenses instead of to build hotels. Bakker viewed PTL as “a gold mine,” Dortch testified.

Describing Bakker’s reaction to Hahn’s contention that Bakker had kidnaped and raped her, Dortch said: “He turned around and looked at me and said, ‘I have not raped anybody. I have not assaulted anybody. But there is a problem.’ ”

Dortch went on to say he told Bakker how much the payoff would cost: $265,000. Testified Dortch: “It was going to have to be dealt with, and I told him the sum of money. His response was, I hate to give them a dime but do what you have to do to get it solved.”

James Taggart, PTL’s interior decorator, used a pointer and photographs to give jurors a “tour” of the Bakkers’ luxurious Highland Beach, Fla., condominium, which had $40,000 worth of draperies and bedding, and a $5,000 Christmas tree with handblown ornaments.

Times researcher Edith Stanley contributed to this story from Atlanta.