Bakkers Plan to Suspend Florida Ministry
PTL founder Jim Bakker headed home to Florida on Friday to prepare for an appeal of his fraud and conspiracy conviction and the possibility that he might be jailed later this month, his lawyer said.
George T. Davis said Bakker and his wife, Tammy Faye, plan to suspend their storefront ministry in Orlando for the time being to concentrate on the television minister’s legal appeal. Bakker is free on $250,000 bond pending his sentencing on Oct. 24.
On Thursday, a federal jury found Bakker guilty of all 24 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy for bilking his followers of $3.7 million. He faces a maximum sentence of 120 years in prison and fines of more than $5 million.
After leaving PTL in March, 1987, the couple began the Jim and Tammy Ministries, which runs a church in Orlando and conducts a five-day-a-week evangelistic television show seen on eight cable outlets.
During Friday’s television show, a stand-in for the Bakkers urged the faithful to pray but didn’t specifically mention the verdict.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
