An American man who charged $35 (£24) for prayers through a Christian Prayer Center website has been ordered by Washington state's Attorney General to repay $7.8 million in fees.

Benjamin Rogovy of Seattle used "systematic deception," prosecutors said, at the end of a year-long investigation.

"At the basic level, it's a scam and he was asking people to give money under deceptive circumstances to have prayers done for them," said Bob Ferguson, state Attorney General.

"Pay to pray. Nothing about it was real."

Prosecutors allege that clients were tricked into signing up for recurring payments for "continued blessings."

Investigators said that fake religious leaders, stock photos and fictitious testimonials were used to entice nearly 165,000 people between 2011 and 2015.

Rogovy's actions broke laws forbidding businesses from making false claims, and prohibiting churches and charities from using misleading or deceptive statements.

The fake testimonials claimed that prayers had helped individuals avoid home foreclosure, win the lottery, as well as have a healthy baby. Rogovy also allegedly created and ran another online site called the Christian National Church.

The Christian Prayer Center website also claimed to be run by a Pastor John Carlson, who had his own LinkedIn page, but does not exist.