Federal agents have arrested the “bling bling” Brooklyn Pastor Lamor Whitehead on fraud and extortion charges. There are at least two charges the case against Whitehead is built on. The first is an allegation that Whitehead convinced one of his own church parishioners to give him a lump sum of money to help her buy a home. 56-year-old Pauline Anderson sent Lamor Whitehead $90,000 that she withdrew from her retirement account. When the woman asked for her money back, the Bishop said it was too late because the money was already invested.
Another crime that Lamor Whitehead is being charged with is in relation to the extortion of a local business. He allegedly used threats of force to extract $5,000 from the person who owned the business. Local authorities told the man to pay the money for some unknown reason. Whitehead somehow convinced this same person to fork over $500,000 and a stake in real-estate transactions in return for favorable treatment from NYC officials that could result in the both of them making millions. This, of course, simply never happened.
Whitehead became known to the general public outside of New York City back in the summer of 2022 when his church was robbed during a service that was live-streamed. Two men were arrested by federal agents back in September of this year for that crime.
Rumors swirled that Whitehead had the church robbery set up in order to cash in on the insurance check that would come later. These allegations were levied against him largely because of his past. Whitehead has a conviction for identity theft dating back to crimes he began committing in 2004. He served a five-year prison sentence and was released in 2013, which is the same year he started his church. If convicted of the most recent allegations, Whitehead could spend over 20 years in prison.
SOURCES:
NYC Bishop Lamor Whitehead hit with federal charges for fraud
Lamor Whitehead Arrested on Charges of Bilking a Parishioner – The New York Times
Feds arrest Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead on extortion charges
Lamor Whitehead Case: Bishop Arrested on Fraud, Extortion Charges – NBC New York
Feds Arrest Mayor Adams’ Pastor Pal for Alleged Fraud – THE CITY
Brooklyn pastor who was robbed on live stream in July charged with fraud | Brooklyn | The Guardian
Bishop Lamor Whitehead indicted on federal charges – CBS New York
Bishop bought luxury goods with attendee’s savings, feds say | Miami Herald
