“Bling Bishop” Lamor Whitehead was arrested by federal agents on Monday (December 19) for fraud, extortion, and making false statements to the FBI.
Whitehead made national headlines when he was robbed at gunpoint of $1 million in jewelry during a live stream of his Sunday service at his church, Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry in Brooklyn (Canarsie).
According to federal prosecutors, Bishop Whitehead swindled retired parishioners out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He is also accused of taking advantage of men and women who sought his spiritual and financial guidance.
Prosecutors say Lamor sought money and other things of value from victims based on threats and false promises.
Via the NY Daily News:
In one instance, Whitehead convinced one of his parishioners to invest nearly $90,000 of her retirement savings with him. But instead of delivering her to the financial promised land, Whitehead spent the money on luxury goods and other personal items, authorities said.
In another instance, Whitehead extorted a businessman for $5,000, then attempted to convince him to lend him $500,000 and give him a stake in a real estate transactions in return for favorable actions from the New York City government, which Whitehead knew he could not obtain.
Whitehead even lied to the FBI, according to authorities. When agents executed a search warrant, Whitehead told them he had no cellphones other than the phone he was carrying, officials said.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams made the following statement after Whitehead’s arrest:
Lamor Whitehead abused the trust placed in him by a parishioner, bullied a businessman for $5,000, then tried to defraud him of far more than that, and lied to federal agents. His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now.
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said:
Whitehead carried out several duplicitous schemes in order to receive funds from his victims. When speaking with authorities, Whitehead consciously chose to mislead and lie to them.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead is expected to be presented in Manhattan Federal Court on Monday afternoon.
He is charged with two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, one count of extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, and one count of making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.
You can’t be out here playing with God thinking he won’t spin the block on you!
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Source: NY Daily News
