Convicted Con Artist And Televangelist Jim Bakker Loses Fight To Stop Fraud Investigation Into His COVID 'Cure'
Aug. 16 2021, Published 12:24 p.m. ET
Convicted con artist and infamous televangelist Jim Bakker has lost his fight to stop the ongoing investigation into his allegedly fraudulent COVID-19 "cure," which he hawked on his television show early into the coronavirus pandemic.
Last June, Bakker, his Morningside Church and its production company sued the Arkansas attorney general, the city attorney of Los Angeles, California, and the district attorneys of both San Joaquin and Merced counties for allegedly violating their constitutional rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
According to their complaint, the investigation violated the "protected religiously motivated speech of a pastor to his congregation" and Bakker's belief that his colloidal silver product known as "Silver Solution" has been "made available to this generation by God."
But the Missouri federal court dismissed the lawsuit, citing lack of personal jurisdiction, a decision that was just upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit's three-judge panel.
A spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge told Breaking Celebrity News in an email statement that she was "pleased with the Eighth Circuit's decision affirming the dismissal of convicted scam artist Jim Bakker's lawsuit against the State of Arkansas."
"Once again, Jim Bakker has failed in his attempt to harm Arkansas consumers from his fraudulent claims that colloidal silver products could prevent and cure COVID-19," the statement read. "General Rutledge believes it is despicable that scam artists will use a crisis like a global pandemic to deceive Arkansans."
Counsel for the district attorneys in Merced and San Joaquin counties echoed Rutledge's sentiments and said that their investigation into Bakker's alleged fraud would go on as planned.