BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: SEPTEMBER 7, 2020- Bishop Lamor Whitehead, NYPD Patrol Borough Brooklyn North Chief Judith Harrison, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Media Personality Angela Yee and Recording Artist Frivio participate in the Peace Walk from Brooklyn Borough Hall to Restoration Plaza in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn organized by Bishop Lamor Whitehead. Credit: mpi43/MediaPunch /IPX
A preacher known for promoting religious beliefs in stylish clothing and expensive jewelry in Brooklyn was found guilty on multiple charges of fraud after extensive evidence was presented to a federal jury regarding the scams of the so-called “Bling Bishop,” including an attempted extortion of a businessman and deceiving a loyal member of the church, resulting in the loss of her retirement funds.
Lamor Whitehead was on trial in the Southern District of New York for two weeks, according to the Justice Department, but it took only a few hours for the jury to reach their decision on Monday and find the 45-year-old Paramus, New Jersey resident guilty on two charges of wire fraud, one charge of attempted wire fraud, and one charge of attempted extortion. Each offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
In addition, Whitehead was convicted of one count of making false statements, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Whitehead, as Law&Crime previously reported, gained attention just under a year ago when he was robbed of jewelry at gunpoint while livestreaming a sermon at his church above a restaurant in Brooklyn.
Since that incident, the founder of the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries has been under scrutiny.
Whitehead, 45, was arrested in December 2023 and according to an indictment, he was accused of deceiving a worshipper later identified at trial as Pauline Anderson out of $90,000. Anderson had set aside the money for her retirement, but Whitehead convinced her to give it to him by promising to help her buy a home that she could renovate.
That promise was never fulfilled.
Instead, he spent her savings on himself, buying designer clothes and shoes, according to prosecutors. When Anderson asked for her money back, Whitehead asked God to punish her, the New York Daily News reported last month.
The convicted preacher bragged about being a friend to New York Mayor Eric Adams and Adams defended Whitehead after he was robbed while livestreaming.
“Lamor, and any other individual that I support, I continue to try to mentor. As a Black man, I have an obligation to mentor other Black men that had negative encounters in their lives and other people in general,” Adams said after the robbery, CBS reported.
Prosecutors say Whitehead used those connections to enhance his image in the eyes of another one of his victims: businessman Brandon Belmonte.
First, Whitehead forced Belmonte, an auto body shop owner, to give him $5,000 through extortion, and then, sensing he had a potential victim, prosecutors say Whitehead pressured Belmonte for a loan of half a million dollars.
The preacher tried to persuade Belmonte to “give him a share in specific real estate transactions in exchange for favorable treatment from the Mayor of New York City, even though Whitehead knew he could not deliver on the promises he made.”
During the trial, it was shown that Whitehead applied for a $250,000 business loan using falsified records. He falsely claimed to have millions in the bank and hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue, according to court records.
When the FBI searched his mansion in Paramus, he falsely told them that he did not have any other cellphone besides the one he had on him.
Actually, he had another cellphone hidden in his home.
U.S. Attorney Damiam Williams commented on the conviction on Tuesday, stating in a public statement: “Whitehead’s reprehensible lies and criminal conduct have caught up with him, as he now stands convicted of five federal crimes and faces time in prison.”
His sentencing was scheduled for July 1.