Cult Justice: Taking Down America’s Most Notorious Cults
Premieres March 28th – all episodes streaming on Hulu
Tens of thousands of Americans have been drawn into the false ideology and promises of modern-day cults. Faith turns to fanaticism. Devotion turns to deviancy. Idealism turns to idolatry.
In this 8-part series, viewers will hear emotional stories from brave survivors who escaped these groups, along with the law enforcement heroes who helped them. Each “Cult Justice” episode tells the unique behind-the-scenes investigative story of how survivors and law enforcement brought these devious and dangerous cult leaders to justice.
The survivor’s stories include tales of riveting escapes and family heartbreak—the daughter who turned her own mother into authorities, the young woman taken as a bride at age 8 by a notorious cult leader, and the mother who desperately tried to rescue her daughter from a militaristic cult.
In addition to the survivors’ tales, each episode also includes interviews with the detectives and prosecutors who opened their investigative files to share fascinating details of these challenging and unique cases, including rarely seen body cam and police videos from inside cult compounds, rare photos and documents, as well as riveting court depositions with the cult leaders themselves.
From Emmy Award winning Executive Producers Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz, Law&Crime Productions, in partnership with TEGNA and Cineflix
Senior Executive Producers: Dan Abrams and Rachel Stockman, Law&Crime Productions; Brian Weiss, TEGNA; Felicia Litovitz, Cineflix
EPISODES
Episode 1 – THE HOLLYWOOD PROPHET (The Trial of Tony Alamo)
Bernie Hoffman’s dream was to strike it rich as a Hollywood star when God called on
him to preach the gospel. Changing his name to Tony Alamo, he started a popular
Hollywood ministry, TV, and radio programs together with his wife Susan.
Episode 2 – THE GENERALS (The Trial of Deborah Green)
General Deborah Green and her husband Jim didn’t hesitate to call themselves leaders
of a cult—what started as a free love commune offering salvation and refuge for lost
souls became a militaristic organization that believed in tough love.
Episode 3 – MOTHER ANNA (The Trial of Anna Young)
It was supposed to be a haven for anyone who made a mistake, committed a crime, and
wanted to turn their life around—that was Anna Young’s mission when she and her
husband started the House of Prayer.
Episode 4 – PASTOR TIFFANIE (The Trial of Tiffanie Irwin)
Neighbors often wondered about the secretive group living in a school building in
suburban Utica, New York. But the secrecy is shattered when a counseling session
turns horrifically violent.
Episode 5 – THE CULT TAPES (The Trial of Jeffrey Lundgren)
After a nine-month investigation, authorities were horrified to find bodies of a family of
five, buried in a barn in Kirtland, Ohio. The ritualistic killings, which made headlines in
1990, were carried out at the orders of cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren.
Episode 6 – THE NUWAUBIAN NATION (The Trial of Dwight York)
Dwight York, aka Dr. Love, had his own record label and musical career in the early 90s.
His early recordings featured love songs and ballads. But Dr. Love was also a
charismatic speaker with radical ideas who gathered hundreds of followers.
Episode 7 – ANGEL OF DEATH (The Trial of Daniel Perez)
Con man Daniel Perez was so charismatic that he convinced his followers he was an
angel. When he was caught and charged with multiple counts of child rape, the “Angel”
fled to Mexico and faked his own death, ending the investigation.
Episode 8 – THE NEW MEXICO MESSIAH (The Trial of Wayne Bent)
Tucked away in a remote, rural compound in New Mexico, in 1987 doomsday preacher
Wayne Bent broke away from his 7th day Adventist upbringing to provide a haven for
his followers who were captivated by his charismatic preaching.
