Seattle man agrees to return millions to people who paid for online prayers

SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state attorney general says he has reached an agreement with a Seattle man to return millions of dollars to consumers nationwide who paid for prayers through a so-called Christian prayer website.


Attorney General Bob Ferguson said, as part of an agreement announced Wednesday, Benjamin Rogovy will pay back as much as $7.75 million to approximately 165,000 customers who were victims of Rogovy's deceptive business practices.

Ferguson says Rogovy operated the Christian Prayer Center, creating fake religious leaders and posting false testimonials on its website to entice people to pay from $9 to $35 for prayers. The attorney general says Rogovy collected over $7 million from consumers between 2011 and 2015.

The website is shut down and a message left for Rogovy at the business was not immediately returned.