Jim Whittington
Encyclopedia
Reverend Jim Whittington (born February 16, 1941 in Dillon, South Carolina
). Whittington is a televangelist and faith healer
who spent 2 1/2 years in prison
for money laundering
, mail fraud, conspiracy
, and interstate transportation of stolen property from his evangelist crusades and direct mail business in the 1980s.
In 1992, Whittington and four others were convicted of stealing $848,532 from Valeria Lust while Whittington was the on-air presence for Fountain of Life Ministries. They said Whittington's ministry paid for cars, jewelry, and a country club membership. He had been known to own expensive high-speed boats and a Rolls-Royce.
Prosecutors said Whittington kept his luxurious lifestyle after leaving prison in 1995 and in ten years had repaid less than two percent of the money he owed. On November 2, 2005, U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm Howard ordered Whittington to pay Lust's estate $5,500 a month. Whittington said that "I'm being persecuted because I'm a man of God".
Whittington's ministry is now aimed at Jamaica and the Caribbean
area.
Dillon, South Carolina
Dillon, South Carolina, the county seat of Dillon County, was established on December 22, 1888. The name of the city came from James W. Dillon, who was a key component in bringing a railroad through this area of the state, which led to development and formation of the County. Dillon’s population...
). Whittington is a televangelist and faith healer
Faith Healer
Faith Healer is a play by Brian Friel about the life of faith healer Francis Hardy as monologued through the shifting memories of Hardy, his wife, Grace, and stage manager, Teddy.-Synopsis:...
who spent 2 1/2 years in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, mail fraud, conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, and interstate transportation of stolen property from his evangelist crusades and direct mail business in the 1980s.
In 1992, Whittington and four others were convicted of stealing $848,532 from Valeria Lust while Whittington was the on-air presence for Fountain of Life Ministries. They said Whittington's ministry paid for cars, jewelry, and a country club membership. He had been known to own expensive high-speed boats and a Rolls-Royce.
Prosecutors said Whittington kept his luxurious lifestyle after leaving prison in 1995 and in ten years had repaid less than two percent of the money he owed. On November 2, 2005, U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm Howard ordered Whittington to pay Lust's estate $5,500 a month. Whittington said that "I'm being persecuted because I'm a man of God".
Whittington's ministry is now aimed at Jamaica and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
area.