The 'Bling Bishop' leaves Federal Court with his lawyer after he was charged with wire fraud and extortion and released on bail
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NYC's 'bling pastor' hit with federal charges for defrauding parishioners of thousands of dollars
Daily Mail
12/19/2022
New York City's notorious 'bling' pastor has been arrested by federal agents for allegedly scamming his parishioners out of more than a hundred thousand dollars.
Lamor Whitehead, the founder of Brooklyn's Leaders of Tomorrow International Church, was indicted on Monday on two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion and one count of making material false statements.
He faces a maximum of 65 years in prison, though his attorney insists he is innocent of all charges.
The pastor who preaches prosperity had made headlines earlier this year when two men robbed him at gunpoint while he was giving a live-streamed sermon. Those suspects are now expected to stand trial early next year.
It was later revealed that the Whitehead, 45, had previously served two years in a state prison on multiple counts of identity fraud and grand larceny before he was released early for good behavior.
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Lamor Whitehead, the founder of Brooklyn's Leaders of Tomorrow International Church, was indicted on Monday on two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion and one count of making material false statements
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Bishop Lamont Whitehead outside Federal Court with his lawyer after he was charged with wire fraud and extortion and released on $500k bail
According to the indictment, Whitehead scammed one of his parishioners out of $90,000 from her retirement savings.
It says he had promised to buy the woman a home, but instead spent the money on luxury goods and clothing.
Federal authorities allege in the indictment that he had repeated communications via text and the Internet with the woman and her son, before they allegedly wired money across state lines.
Although the indictment does not name the victim, the allegations match those made in a civil lawsuit brought by Pauline Anderson over the summer.
She had claimed in the suit, filed in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, that she visited the Leaders of Tomorrow Church in 2020 while she was recovering from surgery.
The victim said she had told Whitehead she was struggling to get a mortgage because of her bad credit score, and the pastor agreed to help.
At first, Anderson claims, she was hesitant to turn over her life savings to the pastor, but decided to go through with it 'because he was a supposed man of the cloth and had previously helped her own son secure housing for himself,' the New York Post reported in July.
He also allegedly agreed to pay her $100-a-month as the savings were her only source of income, and texted her: 'I am a man of integrity and you will not lose,' according to the New York Times.
But Whitehead allegedly made only one payment to the woman in January 2021, the suit claims, and each time she asked the pastor about the status of her home, he would tell her he was tied up with his election campaign for Brooklyn borough president.
Authorities say he scammed a woman out of $90,000 from her retirement fund and $50,000 from a Bronx businessman
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Eventually, though, he told the struggling woman that he was investing the cash in his company and had no obligation to pay it back.
Anderson said she later found out Whitehead used the funds to purchase a $4.4million home for himself in Saddle River, New Jersey.
That purchase never actually went through, the Post reports, but the pastor did wind up buy a $4.5million apartment complex in Hartford, Connecticut.
Anderson sought a $1million judgment in the alleged scam.
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Lamor Whitehead, the founder of Brooklyn's Leaders of the Tomorrow International Church, was arrested by federal agents on Monday. He is pictured here in September
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The so-called 'bling' pastor showed up for the arraignment of two men who robbed him during a sermon in a white Rolls Royce
Separately, federal authorities allege, Whitehead extorted an unnamed businessman out of $5,000 in April and May of this year, and asked the man to lend him $50,000, promising he could make them both 'millions.'
The indictment claims he used threats of force to obtain $5,000 from the victim, who made the payment at the direction of law enforcement officers investigating Whitehead's actions.
He allegedly told the Bronx business owner that he could 'obtain favorable actions by the New York City government,' as he is said to have close ties with Mayor Eric Adams.
When authorities went to arrest him, they allege in the indictment, he told them only had owned the phone he had on him at the time — despite previously sending a text message telling one of his victims to contact him on his 'other phone.'
Authorities will now be able to seize all of the items he used the $140,000 he scammed his parishioners out of to buy
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Whitehead must now forfeit 'any and all property, real and personal, that constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the commission of said offenses,' the indictment says.
And if those items cannot be located or obtained, federal agents are asked to take any other items 'up to the value of the above forfeitable property.'
When DailyMail.com reached out to ask what sparked the investigation into the Bling Pastor, they said 'no comment.'
'His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now,' US Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement on Monday.
FBII Assistant Director Michael Driscoll, who filed the indictment, added: 'If you are willing to obtain funds through false promises or threats, the FBI will ensure that you are made to face the consequences for your actions in our criminal justice system.'
But Whitehead's attorney, Dawn Florio, has insisted the pastor is innocent of the federal charges brought against him.
'Bishop Lamor Whitehead is not guilty of these charges,' she said in a statement to the Post. 'He will be vigorously defending these allegations.
'He feels that he is being targeted, and being turned into a villain from a victim.'
Whitehead, founded Brooklyn's Leaders of the Tomorrow International Church. He is pictured here with his wife and daughters
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The Rolls-Royce driving pastor was robbed on July 24 while giving a sermon to his Brooklyn congregation.
Video of the incident showed three men burst into his church and hold him at gunpoint.
The thieves reportedly made off with more than $400,000 in bling from the ostentatious bishop before two were arrested in September.
Authorities believe the bishop was targeted because he was known to wear flashy, expensive jewelry in the pulpit.
Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack, both 23, are now facing federal robbery charges and are due back in court early next year.
Following their arrest, Whitehead told the New York Daily News that he is 'extremely happy' they had been apprehended.
'My wife was crying when she heard the news. We're waiting for the last one to be arrested so we can move on with our life,' he added, claiming it disproves theories he had staged the attack.
But just weeks after the robbery, Whitehead tempted fate posting a tour of his 'prayer closet,' which could double as a designer warehouse.
The bishop showed viewers his vast collection of designer goods, including a number of Gucci and Fendi blazers and a significant designer shoe collection.
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The pastor preaches prosperity at his sermon, as he continues to wear luxury items. He is pictured here with his wife, whom he said cried when she head the men who robbed him were arrested in September
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Just one week after the robbery, Whitehead showed off his display of Fendi and Gucci jackets along with his 'priestly robes and more'
The pastor also made a name for himself negotiating the surrender of a subway shooting suspect who was wanted for killing a Goldman Sachs employee.
In May, Whitehead was seen rolling up to the NYPD's Fifth Police Precinct in his $350,000 Rolls Royce wearing a Fendi blazer on behalf of Andrew Abdullah, who is accused of shooting dead Daniel Enriquez on a subway platform.
Mayor Eric Adams later revealed he negotiated with the pastor to bring Abdullah in, after the suspect turned up at a legal aid office in Tribeca.
He appeared at the station an hour later, marching into the station wearing a stained white t-shirt and cargo pants.
The Balenciaga-wearing pastor also made a name for himself when he negotiated the surrender of a man wanted for a subway murder
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Whitehead, himself, has also had a long criminal history.
He was arrested in 2006, while wearing a mink jacket, for a brazen $2million identity-theft scam using the name of real people living in Brooklyn and Long Island.
The future pastor was charged with 10 counts of identity theft at the time.
But Whitehead was released from Sing Sing in 2013 for good behavior.
Just two years later, he was accused physically abusing his then seven-year-old son, according to a release report in relation to a parole violation.
The claims were dropped after no evidence of assault was found, according to the State Department of Corrections and Community Service.
Whitehead was arrested later that year in Uniondale, Long Island, for violating an order of protection, the Nassau County Police said. Whitehead has repeatedly denied that he would never beat his son. All charges related to the incident were eventually dismissed.
And in 2016, the Post reports, he was spotted driving around Brooklyn in a Maserati and a Bentley despite owing $251,000 for an outstanding 2009 court judgment over an unpaid personal loan.
He owed Monterey Symphony conductor Maximo Bragado-Darman, for whom he used to work as a mortgage broker.
'[Whitehead] signed a note and a promise and never paid back the money,' Bragado-Darman's lawyer, Todd Houslanger, once told The New York Post. 'I'm trying to get him to pay my client's judgment, and it's increasingly difficult and frustrating.'
More recently, the pastor was sued by a former employee who worked on his campaign for Brooklyn borough president claims Whitehead stifled him out of $56,000.
He has denied the claims, calling the lawsuit 'frivolous.'
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Whitehead had previously tried to run for Brooklyn borough president
Even the pastor's charity activity has been called into question after he claimed to have promoted a collaborative justice initiative with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in 2014. In November of that year, officials from the DA's office sent a cease-and-decease letter to Whitehead.
'There was never any partnership or initiative together with him and this office,' DA spokesman Oren Yaniv told The New York Post.
The NYPD and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce have also refuted the existence of Whitehead's initiatives after the pastor claimed to be working hand-in-hand with the two organizations.
NYPD spokesman Lt. Grimpel once said there was no such thing as a mentorship program involving kids shadowing different NYPD officers at a sports day organized by the ministry and hosted by a former New York Giants player in Von King Park.
When asked by a reporter about the program, the pastor repeatedly answered: 'Why you want to know that?' according to the Post.
He has since claimed that his ministry has 'never solicited funds,' but the organization's website included a 'donate' button until a few weeks ago.
It has also refocused its mission on its services rather than on its youth programs, which was what was initially promoted online, the Post reported.
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Whitehead (left) and Eric Adams (right) are believed to have a close relationship as the mayor tends to discuss social issues with the Bishop
Still, the pastor has been publicly backed by the mayor since the creation of his ministry in 2013.
He has called Adams a 'good friend and a good brother' at an event back in August.
His mother had previously been awarded an honorary citation by the mayor at Borough Hall and rapper Foxy Brown, Whitehead's cousin, was given an honorary key to Brooklyn in February.
Sources say the mayor, in turn, often sought advice from the clergyman on social issues and no undeclared funds were given to the Leaders of Tomorrow founder.
A spokesman from Adam's previous administration as Borough President of Brooklyn once said: 'Borough President Adams has been invited to or served as co-host for several events organized by Bishop Whitehead that target at-risk youth.'
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