‘Bling Bishop’ Lamor Whitehead Says ‘Truth And Vindication’ Will Come After Being Convicted Of Scamming An Elderly Church Member Of Her $90,000 Retirement To Fund His Flashy Lifestyle

‘Bling Bishop’ Lamor Whitehead Says ‘Truth And Vindication’ Will Come After Being Convicted Of Scamming An Elderly Church Member Of Her $90,000 Retirement To Fund His Flashy Lifestyle

Update (March 12, 2024): Bishop Lamor Whitehead is speaking out.

A Manhattan jury found the controversial Brooklyn pastor, known as ‘Bling Bishop’ guilty of attempted extortion, fraud, and lying to the FBI on Monday (March 11). The day after his conviction, he took to Instagram to post an uplifting message.

“The story isn’t over…. It’s just a new chapter….stay [tuned]….God is still God….They can all laugh now and talk….. After this….Jesus will still get the glory.”

He added,

“Stay tuned for this new chapter called …. truth and vindication!”

 

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A post shared by Lamor M Whitehead (@iambishopwhitehead)

For the fraud charge, he scammed an older female congregant, Pauline Anderson, out of her $90,000 retirement savings after he told her she should invest it into a house he’d repair for her. He used the money to finance his lavish lifestyle (making payments on his BMW and shopping at retail stores from Louis Vuitton to Foot Locker).

He also used his close friendship with NYC Mayor Eric Adams, to convince Brandon Belmonte, who owns an auto body repair shop in the Bronx, to give him $500,000. He promised that Belmonte would have access to favors from Adams, whom Whitehead said would “do whatever I wanted.”

He later lied to the FBI, falsifying the number of phones he had when agents were granted a search warrant against him. He also lied on documents to obtain a $250,000 loan before taking the money to buy a New Jersey estate.

Whitehead’s trial began last month, and during the proceedings, he was called out by Prosecutor Jessica Greenwood who said the disgraced pastor,

“lied, cheated and stole to keep up a wealthy appearance. [He] used lies and threats to get money from his victims and when lies caught up to him he lied to the FBI.”

He will be sentenced on July 1.

Whitehead is pastor of Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries. He made headlines in July 2022 when three masked gunmen robbed him and his wife of their jewelry during a church service. The church was in Canarsie, Brooklyn, above a Haitian restaurant.

Original Story (December 19, 2022): Lamor Whitehead will need to say a prayer to get himself out of jail.

On Monday (Dec. 19) new reports revealed that Bishop Lamor Whitehead was charged with fraud, extortion and lying to federal authorities. New York City prosecutors said the pastor, who was the victim of an armed robbery during his church service, solicited money from victims including a retired parishioner, through threats or lies of making them rich. Bishop Lamor Whitehead then allegedly kept the money for himself, never compensating the victims. Dawn Florio, Whitehead’s attorney said:

“Bishop Whitehead denies these allegations and we are going to fight them vigorously.”

Bishop Lamor Whitehead

As previously reported, a lawsuit was filed last year in Brooklyn’s Supreme Court alleging Whitehead stole $90,000 in retirement savings from one of his parishioners. Pauline Anderson accused him of persuading her to invest her entire life savings in one of his firms, Lamor Whitehead Inc., promising that he would assist her in buying a home despite her bad credit history. Whitehead connected Pauline Anderson with two money lenders who assured her she’d have a hard time getting approved for a  loan to buy a home. Whitehead then offered to help her himself if she agreed to invest money in his firm. The lawsuit states, Pauline Anderson wrote a $90,000 check to Whitehead in November 2020 and expected him to compensate her $100 monthly to pay her bills. Whitehead, the Bishop at Leaders of Tomorrow International Churches in Canarsie, Brooklyn, allegedly told the parishioner that he was using her money as a donation to his former campaign to run for Brooklyn borough president. He allegedly mentioned that he had no intentions on paying Anderson back. He texted her:

“I am a man of integrity and you will not lose.” 

The charges on Monday alleged Whitehead’s conduct predated the robbery that surfaced the public back this summer. As previously reported, the 44-year-old and his wife were robbed during his Sunday church service (July 24). The robbery was captured on Bishop Lamor’s live stream where three masked gunmen entered the church causing the pastor to surrender to the ground as the robbers grabbed his jewelry. The New York City Police Department claims burglars stole $400,000 worth of jewelry from the Bishop and his wife which later was valued at almost $1 million. In September two men were charged in Brooklyn federal court in connection with the robbery.

What are your thoughts on Bishop Lamor Whitehead getting arrested for fraud? Tell us below.

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