Scamfluencers - Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker: The God Fraud | Part 1

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker get their start in Christian broadcasting in the early 1960s and quickly become television superstars. As their fame explodes, they build an empire complete with their own network, a theme park, and a super-sized luxury lifestyle for themselves. But when their spending – and their scandals – get out of control, they’ll face their own kind of judgment day.  This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor looking for resources, call the U.S. National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-H-O-P-E.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to scam flu answers early and add free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or Apple podcasts. A heads up to our listeners. This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. Please listen with care. Haggy, as you know, neither of us is Christian. But I actually grew up watching a lot of evangelical Christians on basic cable.

I used to watch a lot of sermon TV. It was just what was served to be in the suburbs on a Sunday. And I'm wondering if you did too. Sachi, this is like the most relatable thing for people who didn't grow up Christian. I also did the same thing because you're just kind of like, what's going on over there? Yeah.

I remember watching 100 Huntly Street in the morning sometimes. It's like the longest ever running thing on Canadian TV and like one of the longest running shows in the world, actually. Yeah. But I remember watching it and being like, what's going on? You know, it's like a way to understand the dominant culture, especially when

you grow up with a quote unquote weird religion. Yeah, yeah. It's like anthropology work. You're like trying to make sense of another community. Yes. Well, as ever, I'm asking because today's scam is about one of the most famous Christian couples to ever preach on TV. Get your non-water proof mascara ready, Sarah. It's time to cry some big fat black tears. It's around dinner time on May 27th, 1987. Jim and Tammy Fe Baker are settling into their living room couch at their beautiful Palm Springs mansion.

Jim's dressed in a simple plaid shirt, while Tammy's got on a hot pink dress with matching nails and lipstick. The couple is getting ready to talk to Ted Couple on ABC's evening news show Nightline. It's their first live TV interview in the two months since they stepped down from their televised ministry, P.T.L., which stands for Praise the Lord.

Their resignation followed a series of scandals in which it came to light that the bakers had been funneling stolen money into their luxury lifestyle for more than a decade, and that Jim had had an extra marital affair. Jim and Tammy are both nervous. Millions of viewers are tuning in to hear how the disgraced couple will respond to the scandal. And the stakes are high.

If they can nail this interview, maybe they can get their life back. They're fame, they're glory, they're ministry, they're adoring followers. Ted Coppel is a famously tough interviewer, but Jim and Tammy Faye have spent roughly the last decade and a half hosting the PTR club, which is also known as the Jim and Tammy show, so they're pretty used to being in front of a camera for hours at a time in front of a live audience

and millions of viewers at home. They've come prepared with Bible verses, which Jim breaks out as soon as Ted lets them talk. Meanwhile, my enemies are trying to kill me. They plot my ruin and spend all their waking hours playing treachery. But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent with them as a man who cannot speak.

Ted is unimpressed. He interrupts Jim. All right, but you're starting to do what I was suggesting to you early on. I wasn't going to let you do it tonight. And that is you're wrapping yourself in the Bible again. And that's that's fine. But I'm asking, I understand it.

Maybe the only protection you have. But it's not the only answer you've got. The smiles fade from Jim and Tammy's faces. Ted Coppel is demanding the answers that everyone in America wants to hear. Before the bakers can answer to God, it's clear that there will be hell to pay right here on Earth. From Wendry, I'm Sachi Cole, and I'm Sarah Haggi, and this is Scanful Insurs.

At their peak, Jim and Tammy Fade Baker were TV stars, moral authorities, and adoring spouses, and they got filthy rich doing it. They were living proof that you could be a good Christian while owning big houses and fancy cars. Or at least, that's what they wanted their followers to believe. This is the story of a couple who appeared to be God's favorites, until they squandered it all on their super secular vices. This is the first episode of our two-part series, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, The God Fraud. Hello listeners, this is Mike Corey of Against the Odds.

You might know that I adventure around the world while recording this podcast, and over the years, I've learned that where I stay when I travel can make all the difference. Airbnb has been my go-to place for finding the perfect accommodations. Because with hotels, you often don't have the luxury of extra space or privacy. Recently, I had a bunch of friends come down to visit in Mexico. We found this large house, and the place had a pool, a barbecue, a kitchen, and a great big living room to play cards. Watch movies and just chill out.

It honestly made all the difference in the trip. It felt like we were all roommates again. The next time you're planning a trip, whether it's with friends, family, or yourself, check out Airbnb. To find something you won't forget. Alison Matt here from British Scandal. Matt, if we had a bingo card, what would be on there? Oh, um, compelling storytelling, egotistical white men and dubious humour. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you will love our podcast, British Scandal. The show where every week we bring you stories from this green and not always so pleasant land.

We looked at spies, politicians, media magnates, a king, no one is safe. And knowing our country, we won't be out of a job anytime soon. Follow British scandal wherever you listen to your podcasts. In the mid-1950s, Jim Baker is a teenager in Muskegon, Michigan. He's good looking with big dimples and thick gel hair, just like Danny Zuko and Greece. But he's also the baby of a very strict and the costal family. His grandfather founded the church that they still attend.

Jim isn't allowed to dance, watch movies, play pool, or listen to rock and roll music. So he finds ways that he can participate in the fun stuff. He DJs for sock hops, those are very old-fashioned team dances, and he edits the newspaper. He even directs a school variety show as a fundraiser for the paper. It's so popular that it completely sells out. Fundraising will turn out to be one of Jim's greatest skills, one that he'll eventually develop into a full-blown career as a televanjalist. But at this point, he's not completely sold

on the religion he grew up with. It seems to come with so many rules and constraints. Jim's looking for some kind of sign from God, and on a dark and snowy night, he gets it. According to Jim's version of the story, he sneaks out of church with a girl and takes her for a ride in his dad's Cadillac. They blast rock and roll music, and when they head back into the church parking lot, Jim realizes he's hit something.

He's horrified when he discovers he's run over the chest of a three-year-old boy, crushing his collarbone and piercing a lung. This is like, if a beach boy song was a horror movie. While Sarah the Boy survives, and Jim thinks that this is a miracle, he later tells people that this is the moment he finds God and decides to devote his life to the church. But people who knew Jim at the time later dispute some of the details of this evangelical origin story. They say he was actually in the car with his cousin and not a girl from church, which makes the outing itself a little less scandalous. They also say that the event happened when Jim was 16, not 18, suggesting it didn't directly lead to his decision to attend Bible College.

Jim, by the way, declined to speak to us for this episode. But either way, what we do know is that he commits to Christianity and he heads to the big city, where he's about to meet his match. Jim is a second-year student at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis when Tammy Fale of Alley shows up for her freshman year in the fall of 1960. She's a total country mouse in the big city and she looks the part too. Here's a photo of her in college. She's a total country mouse in the big city, and she looks the part two.

Here's a photo of her in college. She's so cute. She looks tiny, and she just has such an innocent little face. I know, she's just a baby. Tammy Faker up in a small town in Minnesota on the Canadian border. She was the oldest of eight kids from a family so poor that they didn't even have indoor plumbing.

Like Jim, she was raised by strict pentacostles. And now she's here at Bible College because she might want to be a missionary, but she has some doubts. First of all, she loves makeup, but she's been told that if she wears too much, she will go to hell. Worse than that, she has first-hand knowledge that even Christians can be cruel. Tammy later writes that after her parents divorce, quote,

to the church, my mother was just a harlot. Tammy is torn. She wants to honor God. So does that mean she'll have to give up singing, dancing, and mascara? At college, she finds an unexpected answer to that question. One night, after Tammy comes back from bowling with a few other boys, Jim gets her attention by warning her that running around with men might ruin her reputation.

It's not exactly a pickup line, but it's a pretty effective nag. And when he asks her out a few weeks later, she says yes. For the first date, they weighed half a mile through Minnesota snow to get to a church service at the Minneapolis Evangelistic Auditorium. The following night, they go in a second date, followed by a third date the next night. On that third date, Jim proposes. And Tammy says, yes.

I mean, when you know, you know. Well, there's just one problem. At North Central Bible College, it's against the rules for students to get married. So they drop out of school and tie the knot two days later. They don't know it yet, but they're well on their way to becoming the ultimate Christian influencers.

Jim and Tammy work odd jobs to make ends meet, but their real passion is working as youth ministers at the church auditorium where they went on their first date. While there, they meet all kinds of glamorous evangelists. One traveling preacher tells them he's gonna buy a yacht owned by the actor, Aril Flynn. He says he plans to sail the Amazon River, bringing the word of God to the native people in South America.

He invites Jim and Tammy to come with, but there's a catch. They've got to pay their own way there. Yeah, I mean, that's quite the catch for doing a little bit of modern colonialism. You can come, but you actually have to pay for yourself. Well, they decide to raise the money by performing at a revival in North Carolina. Revivals are a big tradition amongst fundamentalist Christians. They're typically a series of flamboyant services

meant to revive a congregation and convert new followers. At this one, which lasts for two whole weeks, Jim preaches Tammy Sings and members of the congregation speak in tongues and roll on the floor. Jim and Tammy are a hit. They easily raise the money they need for the Yacht trip. But after they handed over to the preacher, he disappears. Turns out Sarah, they got swindled.

Oh. Even if they had raised the money and went to this, it still would have been a scam. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, you know. Wasted money anyway. Jim and Tammy are obviously disappointed, Damn. Damn, if you do, damn, if you don't, you know. Wasted money anyway. Jim and Tammy are obviously disappointed, but they decide to go all in on their traveling revival act anyway.

They buy a used car and start performing across the Bible belt, accepting whatever kind of pay they can get. Even in one case, a live chicken, which they adopt as a pet. After living on the road for almost two years, they realize all these families come to their shows, but their shows aren't super kid-friendly. So, they decide to take bubble bath bottles, caps shaped like animal heads, and use the heads as puppets.

Around this time, a Southern Baptist minister named Pat Robertson has recently launched a Christian media company. It's called the Christian Broadcasting Network, and it's been sending scouts all over the country to find possible acts. When Pat hears about Jim and Tammy's traveling ministry, including their puppet show, he's so impressed that he decides to put them on TV. Jim and Tammy are still in their early 20s, and they're poised to become the next big thing

in Christian entertainment. That is, if they can learn to share the spotlight. The Christian Broadcasting Network is just getting started, and it doesn't have many viewers yet. But for Jim and Tammy, simply being on TV is a huge break. They start out by hosting a children's show called Come On Over in 1965. But before long, they become so popular that Pat changes the name to the Jim and Tammy show. They get real puppets that are fuzzy and googly-eyed and they dance

along to the show's theme song and they even perform on a set built to look like their own little house for the cozy front yard. Kids flock to it, packing the audience at their live tapings every day. From coast to coast, it's time for the nation's biggest yard party, but Jim and Tammy show. It's crazy because, of course, I know about these two and their story on a surface level.

And you're like, oh, they legitimately had pretty good chemistry on screen. We're very entertaining to children. And, you know, they could have just ended it there. But of course, they didn't. They didn't, they didn't at all. But here's the other thing.

CBN is a fledgling scrappy network and it's constantly on the verge of running out of money. The year that Jim and Tammy join, the network host that's annual telephone. It year that Jim and Tammy join, the network hosts its annual telephone. It needs to raise $120,000 to stay on the air, so the pressure is on. By the last night of the telephone, they're still 40 grand short.

The Jim and Tammy show has only been on the air for two months at this point, but Jim realizes that this is his moment to help save the network. And as the night wears on, he starts crying on live TV begging for enough money to get CBN through the next year. It's the same outpouring of emotion that Jim perfected in his and Tammy's revival performances. And Sarah, it works! After his theatrics, the donation start rolling in. Jim stays on the air until 2.30 in the morning, more than three hours after the telephone was supposed to end.

And during those hours, he raises the entire $40,000 that CBN needs to stay on the air. Jim may have single-handedly saved the network, but as time goes on, he starts having disagreements with Pat about the direction of his and Tammy's show. Jim wants to be more theatrical, but Pat wants to play it safe. Plus, there are other risks at the network. Some of Jim and Tammy's colleagues think that they take up way too much airtime

and are way too flashy with their money. Jim and Tammy can feel these tensions rising. So, after seven years with the network, they decide to leave and strike out on their own. In 1972, Jim and Tammy, now in their early 30s, pack up their baby daughter, Tammy Sue, and go where all stars are born. Los Angeles. It's not exactly the Holy Land, but it is a place where they can grow their audience, and their bank accounts. They team up with some fellow ministers to found a nonprofit called Trinity Broadcasting Systems.

It functions as a TV network, but it's registered with the IRS as a charitable organization. And this means it doesn't have to pay federal taxes and that donations to the network are tax deductible. Oh, that sounds real convenient. We'll get more into that later. But in the meantime, things quickly sour between Jim and Tammy and the other founders

of the TV network. So after less than a year of working together, the couple decides to pack up and move to Charlotte, North Carolina. Their ex-partners, meanwhile, spin off into a new station called the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which some of our listeners might still recognize. Jim and Tammy Faye have gone from restless, repressed teenagers in tiny Midwestern towns to the next big thing on Christian

TV. They've had a hugely successful start to their careers, but as they open their own ministry, their ambition is about to outstrip their capabilities. Hi, it's me, the Grand Poova of Bahambad, the OG Green Grump, the Grinch. From Wandery! Tis the Grinch holiday talk show is a pathetic attempt by the people of O'Vill to use my situation as a teachable moment. So, join me, the Grinch, along with Cindy Luhu, and of course my dog Max every week for this complete waste of time. Listen as I launch a campaign against Christmas cheer, grilling celebrity guests like chestnuts on an open fire. Now try to get my heart to grow a few sizes, but it's not gonna work, honey. Your family will love the show!

As you know, I'm famously great with kids. Follow Tiz the Grinch Holiday Talk Show on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Tiz the Grinch Holiday Talk Show early and add free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Choose the perfect holiday gifts at CF's holiday market at CF Sherway Gardens. Shop from 15 local merchants offering a variety of gifts, including personalized ornaments, flowers, apparel, and more. Enjoy live musical performances, take advantage of our Gift Wrap service, and stop by the

letters to Santa's Station with your kids. Open until December 23rd, Thursday through Saturday from 11 to 7 in Sunday 11 to 6. Play in your visit today. And I feel like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a- like a In North Carolina, Jim and Tammy pick right back up where they left off. But this time, they're calling the shots. In 1974, they start broadcasting a daily talk show called the P-T-L Club under their flagship network, which will become known as the P-T-L network. Remember, that stands for Praise the Lord, and the TV show takes off really quickly. Within a few years, Jim and Tammy majorly upgrade.

They start performing in front of a live audience audience backed by a band and a gospel choir. They walk hand in hand through the crowd and bask in the applause. Jim preaches and Tammy sings, but she's not just the funny, flirty wife anymore. She brings a depth of feeling to the show, crying real tears as she sings her gospel hymns, letting her thickly applied mascara and technicolor eyeshadow drip down her cheeks. Sarah, take a look at this clip.

Oh, here comes the fear of the world and the grief of a dearie of God. Oh, God, God, God. Honestly, I love you, you love me. Honestly, I love this. Yeah, it's performance. She's really giving it her all and performing. And you know what, it's very hard to be in a crowd like that hearing the swelling music,

seeing someone you idolize weeping in this very uninhibited way. And to not be affected, like, I do understand how this works. Yeah, I mean, it's powerful. Meanwhile, Jim wants to be less Mr. Rogers and more Johnny Carson. He brings on famous ministers and orators, as well as regular old celebrities like Mickey Rooney and Colonel Sanders.

It's like a late-night talk show, but also like a living room chat. It's highly public and highly intimate. Running their own show is thrilling, but it's also an unbelievable grind, and it's expensive. Luckily, Jim is a telephone champion. By the end of its first year, he helps P.T. Al bring in 140 grand a month. One, seven, oh four, five, five, four, six thousand. And we want to send you that new beautiful month. But money making isn't just a daily hustle for Jim and Tammy. It's also become a religious doctrine. Within three years of starting the PTL club, Jim and Tammy are hosting four telephones

a week. They start preaching the prosperity gospel, promising their followers that donations to the church will result in spiritual and material wealth. Their message basically boils down to, if you want to be us, pay us! As the P.T.L. network grows, the bakers gain access to bigger and bigger celebrities, like Eldridge Cleaver, a black panther who recently found God and Little Richard, a singer who grew up Baptist. Jim can't resist bringing on famous people. There are appearances rake in more viewers,

which brings in more cash. And in pursuit of these famous faces, Jim and Tammy end up shockingly talking about sex, drugs, rock and roll, and various other sins on stage. Listen, if this show existed right now, I would be watching it just for the entertainment purpose. Like, this sounds on its surface very entertaining, whether or not you believe it, seeing these

two freaky weirdos cry all day, her makeup coming off her face, this guy in this suit with a weird smile talking to Little Richard, somehow bringing up sex and drugs. That's TV. Exactly. And that is good for business. But it does draw a dividing line between the bakers and the rest of the Christian elite. There's a big schism coming in the evangelical community. But Jim and Tammy are riding the high of their successful new show and they have an even more ambitious project in mind. By the end of the 1970s, the PTO Club is more popular than ever. The show has

millions of viewers all across the country and Jim's ready to think even bigger. He wants to build a Christian theme park called Heritage USA, inspired by Disney World, and in his vision it'll have a water park, a skating rink, a mall, and a main street, plus a hotel, a campground, an amphitheater, and, yes, of course, a church. In the even longer term, Jim is actually hoping to expand Heritage USA into Heritage University. All of the other major Christian preachers have their own schools. Pat Robertson founded Regent University, Jerry Fowl will founded Liberty University,

and Oral Roberts, the televangelist who popularized the prosperity Bible, has Oral Roberts University. Jim is determined to one of them all. In his grand plan, Heritage USA will be the first ever theme park slash mega church slash school. Okay, these things don't have to be together. Think about it. You go to class, you get to go to a water park. Then you find out about how your your soul is going to be damned if

you eat a cigarette. It's perfect. One-stop-shop. It simply doesn't make sense effectively. You get too tired after a theme park to go to... Unless it's like, you go to church, then you get to go to a theme park. Like, is the theme park the reward at the end? You know, I guess I just want to know how this is organized before I sign on. Sure. Those are good questions.

I don't really know the answers, but it is very ambitious. And that ambition is costly. Jim has a brilliant idea for getting cash upfront. He'll offer time shares at the hotel. Basically, guests can come for three nights a year every year if they put down a one-time payment of $1,000. Jim starts selling tons of these time shares.

In fact, he sells way more than he has rooms to fill. And Sarah, if you're trying to figure out whether that business strategy makes any sense, it does not. Ah, this is so frustrating. It's just like, there are too many ways these people are trying to make money. There are just simply too many ways.

This is too complicated. Why go into a time share business? You had it down with the donations. Just stop, stop. Well, Sarah, it just wasn't enough. And on Jim's 38th birthday, in the beginning of 1978, he breaks ground on Heritage USA. The campus will spread out across 2,500 acres in Fort Mills, South Carolina.

Jim is on the verge of claiming a kingdom for his flock, and he's ready to live like royalty. As the PTO network gets bigger and more visible, people start noticing how much its leaders are making, and how much they're spending. In 1979, the FCC opens an investigation into Jim and Tammy. They're looking into allegations that the couple raised over 330 grand for missionary work, but ended up spending it on heritage USA instead. The FCC works on the case for more than three years, but by the end of 1982, it passes the investigation over to the Justice Department. This handoff gets some coverage in the media, like the New York Times and the Washington Post,

but PTL's followers don't really seem to care. They see it mostly as bureaucratic, not scandalous. So Jim and Tammy just keep rising. By 1985, their network has 13 million daily viewers and is earning $10 million a month. But Steve Nelson, a handsome and clean-cut Vice President at P.T at PTO is really concerned. He tells Jim that he's worried that they've oversold rooms at the Heritage USA Hotel.

Steve doesn't understand why he's the only one who seems worried about this. He even reportedly says, quote, someone could go to jail for this. But Jim shrugs him off with his usual serving of Christian generosity. Jim reassures him that there's always room at the end. Except mathematically, there is not. All Jim cares about is making sure that Heritage USA is a success. And this feels like the competitive edge

he's been waiting for, the thing that sets him apart from all those other celebrity pastors. In a promotional video about Heritage USA, he glots about the insane traffic leading into the park. I said, can you imagine somebody pulling in here from Des Moines? It has driven all day. And then they hit that line of traffic

at about seven o'clock at night. And they've got all across country and it takes them four hours to get to the hotel after they got a mile from here. Praise the Lord. This is insane because forget any of this has to do with any type of fraud. Imagine organizing something that people are driving several hours to attend and seeing this traffic that they're hitting that will make them wait for even more hours.

Wouldn't you be like, oh, this is absurd. We have to figure out how to fix this. Instead, he's like, this is awesome. This is how much people love me. Yes, Sarah, this is the original fire festival. Jim's caught up in the magical thinking that's brought him to the height of wealth and fame. Meanwhile, Tammy is taking risks of her own. She's been using her platform to embrace

a radical form of Christian compassion, one that's bound to invite controversy. Around the time heredity USA opens, the US is reeling from the AIDS crisis. President Ronald Reagan doesn't bother addressing it, and neither do most televangelists until Tammy Fe. In 1985, she welcomed Steve Peters, a young gay pastor living with HIV as a guest on PTR.

Jim is not into it. It seems like he thinks it's going to offend their base, and he doesn't want to be a part of it. So Tammy interview Steve Solo. Steve wears a powder blue suit and he smiles a lot. He's articulate and kind, and he loves God. And plus, he's super patient with Tammy's, frankly, pretty clueless questions. Do you think maybe you just haven't given women a fair try?

No, my orientation is towards men. I mean, yeah, that's kind of what I would expect someone like Tammy to say. It's actually not as bad as it could be, frankly. No, not at all. Well, eventually Tammy gets to the real meat of the interview. How sad that we as Christians, who are to be the salt of the earth, we who are supposed to be able to love everyone, are afraid so badly of an age patient that we will not bow up and put our arm around them

and tell them that we care. Yes. It's a radical moment targeted directly at right-wing Christians. Tammy is stirring the pot, and her critics are starting to take notice. Meanwhile, a local journalist is looking into her and Jim for other reasons, their finances.

And when he starts to poke around, he'll discover a bombshell story, one that will shake the foundation of Jim and Tammy's ministry. This podcast is brought to you in part by Audible, presenting Anne of Green Gables. A timeless tale reimagined. Anne of Green Gables is an immersive new adaptation of the beloved Canadian classic. It features an all-star cast, led by Sandra O. as narrator, Catherine O'Hara as Marilla Cuthbert, Victor Garber as Matthew Cuthbert, and Michaela Lushi as Anne Shirley. It's releasing now during the holidays, making it perfect for a family listening moment that transcends generations and celebrates the universal journey of self-discovery and the power of imagination.

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It's a piece about how PTO has been misusing its funds, and it lands on the front page of the Charlotte Observer. The article features a damning list of personal purchases made by Jim and Tammy using PTO's money. They include a 43-foot houseboat for Jim, a $2,500 min coat for Tammy, a condo in Florida worth nearly $400,000, a half a million dollar house in California, a Rolls Royce, and a Mercedes-Benz.

It's flashy stuff, but it doesn't make a big impact in the way that Charlie probably hopes. It seems like most of Jim and Tammy's followers just shrug their shoulders. So Charlie probably hopes. It seems like most of Jim and Tammy's followers just shrug their shoulders. So Charlie keeps digging. And over the next year, he and his colleagues of the Charlotte Observer published more than 600 stories

about the Baker's embezzlement of P.T.L. funds. Okay, 600 stories about one thing. That is unimaginable. And like so thorough, like. Like there were 600 stories. That 600 of them were written. I mean, beat reporters barely write that much about anything. And this is just about these people and their business. This is one of the craziest things I've heard in any episode we've done. Okay. Well, it's going to get crazier Because then, Charlie gets a call from a woman named Jessica Han. Jessica drops a bombshell.

She says that Jim Baker raped her. Jessica tells Charlie that in November of 1980, she flew from New York to Florida to attend Jim's telephone. She was 20 years old at the time, and she worked as a secretary at a church. She loved watching Jim and Tammy on TV, and she thought that they were, quote, the closest thing to heaven. So when she gets to the telephone, she's eager to help them out.

She even agrees to take care of their kids for an afternoon. But once she gets to the hotel room to watch the kids, she finds Jim there, along with his friend and fellow evangelist, John Wesley Fletcher. Then, according to Jessica, John offers her Vaseline lotion and tells her, Jim likes backrobes. Jim allegedly takes the bed spread off the bed, pulls her over to him and has sex with her. Jessica tries to push Jim away, protesting that she's a virgin. Jim later contests the rape allegation, saying that the sex was consensual. Charlie is horrified, but he's also intrigued.

He knows that this will be a huge story. The thing that might finally make Jim and Tammy's followers care about their misdeeds, if only he can confirm it's true. After months of digging, he finally tracks down a paper trail showing that Jim paid Jessica $265,000. He put it on the books as construction costs for the passion-play amphitheater, but it really looks like hush money. Charlie knows he has enough to publish the story, but his editors are waffling, worried about liability. So, he does everything in his power to push the piece through.

He begs each editor one by one. He even threatens to quit if they don't let him publish it. And eventually, they give in. The last step is asking Jim to comment on the allegations. Like any intrepid reporter, Charlie worries about getting scooped by someone from a different paper. He spent more than a year of his life working on stories about P.T.L., and he doesn't want it all to go to waste,

but it doesn't occur to him that he might get scooped by Jim Baker himself. On March 19th, 1987, before Charlie can even publish the story he's been working so hard on, Jim abruptly resigns from P.T.L. To explain his resignation, Jim claims that he's exhausted from dealing with the observer, which has, quote, attacked us incisantly for the past 12 years. And now, he says, he knows a new attack is coming. Jim doesn't mention Jessica by name, but he does say, quote, a categorically denied that I've ever sexually assaulted

or harassed anyone. I sorrowfully acknowledge that seven years ago in an isolated incident, I was wickedly manipulated by treacherous former friends and then colleagues who victimized me with the aid of a female Confederate. They conspired to betray me into a sexual encounter at a time of great stress in my marital life.

The next day, Charlie publishes a front page story about Jim's resignation and details Jessica's allegations. The scandal instantly blows up. It becomes a huge national story and it stays in the headlines for months. You know, no one writes a check for $200,000 to someone because they had a normal, consensual affair. Like, it's so crazy to me that he's trying to make it seem

like that's what happened when it clearly isn't. Religious leaders have affairs all the time. It would have been an amazing redemption story if people found out he had an affair and was like, hey, I got caught, I'm human, we all are. Give me more money. And you know what I mean? It's just like, it's so evil.

Yeah, it's pretty monstrous to try to make it seem. Like the worst part of this story is like some consensual affair. But in reality, Jim knows he's in deep shit. He even appoints a super conservative preacher, Jerry Falwell, to take his place at P.T.L. Jerry, you might remember, is the founder of Liberty University, and he's been building a coalition called the Moral Majority, recruiting evangelicals who are pro-segregation and anti-abortion. Jerry has been Jim's competitor up to this point.

They both want to be the most popular Christian media figure in the country. But Jim thinks that Jerry can shepherd PTL through this turmoil. He also thinks it's a temporary arrangement for optics. But what he doesn't know is that Jerry never intends to let him come back. After a few months of relative silence, Jim and Tammy sit for that hour-long interview

with Ted Coppill on Nightline. Remember that from the beginning of our episode? Yes, that is the one where he just keeps reciting Bible verses instead of answering any actual question. Yeah, correct. Well, things only get worse for Jim and Tammy from there. A month later, P.T.L. files for bankruptcy. It eventually gets sold to a real estate developer

for half of what it's worth. By the end of the summer of 1987, a federal grand jury gets sworn in specifically to investigate Jim, Tammy, and their associates for possible mail and wire fraud. Then, about six months later, the Charlotte Observer wins a Pulitzer Prize for public service for exposing Jim and Tammy's fraud.

And a month after that, the IRS strips PTL of its tax exempt status. And with this news, what few donations were still trickling in, dry up fast. Now, the federal government can start collecting back taxes, going back 15 years. It adds up to $62 million. But worst of all, in December 1988, Jim and a former vice president of P.T.L. are charged

with 24 counts of male fraud, liar fraud, and conspiracy. Tammy escapes any charges. She was never in control of P.T of PTL's finances, so she can't be held liable for them. But she is completely caught up in Jim's public fall from grace. In a matter of months, the bakers have lost their jobs, their reputations, and their empire. But Jim is about to go through a highly public trial, and he still has more to lose. It's August 30th, 1989, and Jim is on trial for fraud and conspiracy. His former employees are being called to the stand,

and their testimonies against him are brutal. His former personal aide tells the court that Jim felt he, quote, lived shabbly compared to other ministers, and wanted to have ten homes. Steve, P.T.L.'s former Vice President for World Outreach, is even more explicit about Jim's wrongdoing. He testifies that he told Jim he was overselling timeshairs in heritage USA back in 1985, and that Jim just ignored him.

But Steve is clearly overwhelmed by the situation. The southern heat is intense, and this scandal has dragged on for years. And on top of all that, he feels guilty for betraying the man who used to be his religious role model. He starts looking pale and sweaty partway through his testimony. And before he can finish, he passes out right there on the stand. Jim gets a nudge from his lawyer because this is the perfect opportunity to show off Jim's Christian goodwill. So he rushes to

Steve's side, takes his hand and starts praying. He even manages to conjure up some of his signature tears. It's really intense and by the end of the day the paramedics are wheeling Steve out of the courthouse on a stretcher so they can take him to the hospital. This is happening in court, yeah. And things only get more dramatic from there. The next morning, when Jim Psychiatrist walks into the office, he finds Jim lying on the floor with his head under a couch. He says that he's hiding from people who are out to get him, whimpering

about how scared he is. In short, he is a total mess. That afternoon, his psychiatrist asks for him to be sent to a private hospital so he can get treatment for these hallucinations, and the judge is forced to suspend the trial. I mean, this is just so nuts, like they can't do anything normally. Okay, well, there's another thing, because a short while later, there is a full-on natural disaster. Hurricane Hugo sweeps through Charlotte, which leaves many jurors without water or power. The judge suspends the trial yet again. The problems are just non-stop. Almost like God is swooping in to save Jim

from his own fate, but Jim can't stop the inevitable arrival of his verdict. Next time, in the finale of our two-part series, Jim will have to answer to a jury of his peers, and Tammy will go solo, undergoing a revival of biblical proportions. undergoing a revival of biblical proportions. Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to ScanFluencers, Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen Add Free

with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. This is Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, the Godfraud, part one. I'm Sachy Cole, and I'm Sarah Haggie. If you haven't tipped for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us

at scamfulensorsatwundery.com. And a reminder that our scamful ins answers merch store is now live at Wunderyshop.com. We use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were the New York Times article for Jim and Tammy Baker excess wiped out a rapid climb to success by William Eastman. The Washington Post article, the Jessica Han tape by Art Harris. The book, P.T.L. The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy

Faye Baker's Evangelical Empire by John Wigger, and of course, Charlie Shepard's reporting for the Charlotte Observer. This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is looking for resources, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOP. That's 1-800-656-4673. Izzy Mpiel wrote this episode, additional writing by Us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Hackie. Sarah Enny is our story editor and producer

and Eric Thurm is our story editor. Fact checking by Gabrielle Drolley, sound designed by James Morgan. Additional audio assistance provided by Adrian Tapia. Our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freeze Unsync. Our coordinating producer is Desi Blaylock, and our managing producer is Matt Gantt. Jeanine Cornelo and Stephanie Jenns are our development producers. Our associate producers are Charlotte Miller and Lexi Peary.

Our producers are John Reed, Yasmin Ward, and Kate Young. Our senior producers are Ginny Bloom and Jen Swan. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marshall Louis and Aaron O'Flairi. For Wundery. Hi, it's me, the Grand Puba of Bah Bahamba, the OG Green Grump, the Grinch. From Wandery! Tis the Grinch Holiday Talk Show is a pathetic attempt by the people of O'Vill to use my situation as a teachable moment.

So join me, the Grinch, along with Cindy Luhu, and of course my dog Max every week for this complete waste of time! Listen as I launch a campaign against Christmas cheer, grilling celebrity guests, like chestnuts on an open fire. Now try to get my heart to grow a few sizes, but it's not gonna work, honey. Your family will love the show! As you know, I'm famously great with kids. Follow Tiz the Grinch Holiday Talk Show on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Tiz the Grinch Holiday Talk Show early and add free right now by

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