Tony Alamo, a onetime street preacher whose apocalyptic ministry grew into a multimillion-dollar network of businesses and property before he was convicted in Arkansas of sexually abusing girls he considered his wives, died on Tuesday in federal prison in North Carolina. He was 82.

The United States Bureau of Prisons said he died in a prison hospital in Butner, northeast of Durham.

Mr. Alamo was convicted in 2009 of taking girls across state lines for sex. One was a 9-year-old. A judge sentenced him to the maximum 175 years in prison.

Tony Alamo Christian Ministries attracted hippies and alienated youngsters when it started on the streets of Los Angeles in the 1960s before it became widely reviled for its leader’s actions and teachings.

Calling themselves “Jesus Freaks,” Mr. Alamo’s followers preached a wrathful version of Pentecostalism, which is known for its spirited worship practices and belief in modern-day revelation and miracles.

Mr. Alamo claimed to be unique among Christian preachers because he was born a Jew and had a “supernatural experience” through which he became a born-again Christian.

In the 1970s and ’80s, members of his ministry made elaborately designed denim jackets that were sold to celebrities, including Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and country music stars.

At its height, his ministry claimed thousands of members nationwide, drawn to Mr. Alamo’s virulent anti-Catholicism and apocalyptic speech, in which he claimed that God had authorized polygamy, professed that gay people were the tools of Satan, and believed that girls were fit for marriage. “Consent is puberty,” he told The Associated Press in 2008.

From a 300-acre compound in northwest Arkansas, Mr. Alamo presided over several businesses — including gas stations, a hog farm, a grocery store and a restaurant — that funded his ministry. Ultimately, the Internal Revenue Service claimed Mr. Alamo owed $7.9 million in taxes and federal agents raided his properties in 1991.

He was convicted of tax evasion and served four years in prison. After he left prison he started a new compound in the tiny southwest Arkansas town of Fouke, joined by about 100 followers.