Peter Popoff's Radio Earpiece Fraud

In the mid-1980s, Peter Popoff drew thousands to healing crusades where he would single out strangers in the crowd, recite their home addresses, and describe their ailments — claiming the Holy Spirit had revealed these details. His ministry was taking in more than half a million dollars per month.

Skeptic and stage magician James Randi became suspicious and enlisted electronics expert Alexander Jason, who attended crusades with a radio scanner. Jason discovered that Elizabeth Popoff was broadcasting from backstage on a specific frequency, reading names, ailments, and addresses that she and her aides had harvested from prayer request cards filled out before the service. Peter received these transmissions through a small earpiece and repeated them onstage as if freshly revealed by God.

In May 1986, Randi presented the scanner recordings on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Elizabeth's voice is heard coaching Peter from the very opening — "Hello, Petey, can you hear me? If you can't, you're in trouble" — and the recordings include her mocking sick attendees. Viewer ratings and donations fell sharply. In September 1987 Popoff's ministry declared bankruptcy.

Popoff later resurfaced in the 2000s, rebranded under People United for Christ and marketing "Miracle Spring Water" on late-night infomercials. His daughter was documented buying ordinary bottled water from Costco to be repackaged. By 2003 the revived ministry was generating over $9 million annually — a new audience that had not seen the Carson broadcast.