Community Corner

Benny Hinn Heckled at LAX, Caught on Video

The Aliso Viejo preacher is called the "world's greatest scammer."

An Orange County man heckled Benny Hinn at LAX with television cameras rolling, calling him the "world's greatest scammer."

Hinn, who tapes This Is Your Day! from his World Media Center in Aliso Viejo, did not respond. The minister and his five bodyguards walked past the heckler.

A TMZ reporter taped the brief confrontation, then asked the heckler to elaborate. The unidentified man does:

Find out what's happening in Aliso Viejofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"(Hinn has) been scamming people out of religious money for decades. He could buy a 747. He lives in my zip code in Newport Coast, California. He gets peoples' social security checks, they spend their life savings hoping he can cure their cancer and when they're dead he keeps the money."

The heckler may have been taking a bigger risk than he realized. In February, a deaf man suspected of plotting to splash Hinn with water at a rally in Brazil was hospitalized. Hinn's son and two of the minister's body guards allegedly detained and questioned the deaf man inside a trailer, then allegedly beat him for not responding.

Find out what's happening in Aliso Viejofor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The LAX incident inspired a spirited debate on TMZ: Is Hinn a scam artist or a genius businessman? What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Aliso Viejo