Sex scandal preacher ‘tried to flee with £7m’
A FAITH healer who has been accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of women is also suspected of spiriting away about £7million from devotees – including Hollywood stars.
The “psychic surgeon” who calls himself John of God claims to have made blind people see and cured cancer patients since being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2010.
However, in Brazil’s first #MeToo scandal the spiritualist – real name João Teixeira de Faria – has been arrested after 450 believers came forward saying they had been molested or raped by him as “part of their treatment”.
The 76-year-old is facing years behind bars and could also be ordered to repay wealthy clients after £7million is understood to have been found in his suitcases. It is thought he was planning to flee but instead turned himself in.
His followers include Graceland singer Paul Simon, who revealed earlier this year that he had flown to Brazil in 2014 to meet John of
BELIEVER: Oprah Winfrey with Faria after their 2013 interview
God in the hope he could cure his recurring nightmares. But Simon, 77, admitted that the healer could do nothing to help. “He didn’t really have anything that fixed it, if that’s the right word,” he said.
Faria’s popularity soared following a second Oprah interview in 2013 when she said she felt “something very strong” in his presence. “This was when the floodgates opened,” a Hollywood insider said. “Scores of household names rushed down to Brazil to see him. I suspect more than a few are now embarrassed to have done so.”
Meanwhile, police believe “mystic energies” are at work in the investigation after a fridge blew up in the interrogation room and a printer began working unprompted. Faria’s lawyers say they are “vehemently contesting all the charges”.