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.
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
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.
Neighbours 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.
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 killers, which made headlines in 1990, were carried out at the orders of cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren.
Dwight York, aka Dr. Love, had his own record label and musical career in the early 90s. His early recordings featured a love songs and ballads. But Dr. Love was also a charismatic speaker with radical ideas who gathered hundreds of followers.
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.
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.