Brooklyn pastor ‘Bling Bishop’ sentenced to nine years for fraud and extortion

Brooklyn pastor ‘Bling Bishop’ sentenced to nine years for fraud and extortion
Lamor Whitehead, a
flashy Brooklyn pastor
nicknamed the “Bling
Bishop,” was sentenced
on Monday to nine
years in prison after
being convicted of
using a parishioner’s
retirement savings
and trying to extort
a businessman, the
US Attorney for the
Southern District of
New York announced.
Whitehead was found
guilty in March of two
counts of wire fraud,
as well as one count
each of attempted wire
fraud, attempted
extortion and making
false statements to
federal law enforcement
agents. The convictions
are from three separate
schemes.
In addition to his prison
sentence, the 45-year-old
New Jersey man “was
sentenced to three
years of supervised
release and ordered
to pay US$85,000 in
restitution and forfeit
US$95,000,” according
to a news release from
the US attorney’s office
and court documents.
“Lamor Whitehead is
a con man who stole
millions of dollars in
a string of financial
frauds and even stole
from one of his own
parishioners. He lied
to federal agents, and
again to the Court at
his trial. Today’s sentence
puts an end to Whitehead’s
various schemes and
reflects this Office’s
commitment to bring
accountability to those
who abuse their positions
of trust,” US Attorney
for the Southern District
of New York Damian
Williams said in the
news release.
One of Whitehead’s
attorneys has previously
said they plan to appeal.
CNN has reached out
to Whitehead’s lawyer
for comment
Known for his Louis
Vuitton suits and
extravagant jewellery
, Whitehead was a
pastor at the Leaders
of Tomorrow International
Ministries in Brooklyn.
He made headlines in
2022 after he said he
and his wife were robbed
of US$1 million worth
of jewellery at their church.
Prosecutors said Whitehead
defrauded one of his
parishioners by convincing
her to invest approximately
US$90,000 of her retirement
savings with him so he
could help her buy a home;
however, he ended up
spending the money
on luxury goods and
personal expenses
instead, according to
an indictment.
FILE - Bishop Lamor
Miller-Whitehead speaks
with the media, Tuesday,
24 May, 2022, in New York. Miller-Whitehead, a
Brooklyn preacher known
for his flashy lifestyle
and who boasted of his
friendship with New
York City as mayor, was
found guilty in federal
court Monday, 11 March
, 2024, of wire fraud,
attempted extortion
and lying to the FBI.
Whitehead also extorted
a businessman for
US$5,000 and then
attempted to convince
the man to loan him
US$500,000 and grant
him a stake in real estate
transactions in exchange
for obtaining “favourable
actions by the New York
City government” that he
knew he could not provide
, the indictment said.
Whitehead used his ties
to New York City Mayor
Eric Adams to try to make
the deal, the US attorney’s
office said in a March
news release.
He also submitted a
fraudulent application
for a US$250,000 business
loan that included
doctored bank statements,
which falsely claimed
he had millions of dollars
in the bank and hundreds
of thousands of dollars in
monthly revenue, according
to the US attorney’s office
news release.
Whitehead had “submitted
similar fraudulent applications
to various other financial
institutions, stealing millions
of dollars in the process,”
the release said.
And when speaking to
FBI agents who were
executing a search
warrant outside his
New Jersey mansion,
Whitehead made false
statements by telling
the agents he only had
one phone, when he
actually had two,
according to the indictment.
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