Act Daily News
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The flashy, jewelry-flaunting Brooklyn pastor who reported being robbed whereas preaching at his church this previous summer season was arrested on federal prices Monday – unrelated to the July incident – for allegedly defrauding a parishioner, making an attempt to extort a businessman and mendacity to the FBI, in response to a federal indictment.
Lamor Whitehead, the 45-year-old pastor who goes by “Bishop,” was charged with wire fraud, tried wire fraud, tried extortion and making a fabric false assertion, the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York introduced. He faces as much as 65 years in jail for his alleged crimes.
As the pastor of Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry, Whitehead allegedly defrauded one in every of his parishioners out of about $90,000 from her retirement financial savings over the course of at the very least 14 months starting round April 2020, in response to the indictment. The doc stated Whitehead informed the parishioner he would use her cash to assist her purchase a house and make investments the remainder of the cash, however as a substitute used it “to purchase thousands of dollars of luxury goods and clothing” and “for his own purposes.”
Whitehead by no means helped her purchase a house, the courtroom doc says, and by no means returned her cash regardless of her request.
This spring, Whitehead allegedly tried to persuade a businessman to mortgage him about $500,000 and grant him a stake in actual property transactions in change for acquiring “favorable actions by the New York City government” that will make them “millions” – one thing the pastor knew he couldn’t get hold of, the indictment says. Earlier this 12 months, he additionally allegedly used “threats of force” towards that very same businessman to extort $5,000 from him.
Further, Whitehead allegedly informed FBI brokers who have been executing a search warrant that he had just one cellphone. But the indictment states he had a second cellphone that he used – together with to textual content a message by which he described it as “my other phone,” the indictment states.
Whitehead appeared in courtroom Monday and was launched on a $500,000 private recognizance bond, in response to Attorney’s Office spokesman Nicholas Biase.
“As we allege today, 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,” US Attorney Damian Williams stated in a press release. “His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now.”
Whitehead’s legal professional, Dawn Florio, denied the accusations towards Whitehead.
“Bishop Lamor Whitehead is not guilty of these charges,” Florio informed Act Daily News. “We are vigorously defending these accusations and we feel he is being targeted and being turned into a villain from a victim.”
Back in July, Whitehead stated he was the sufferer of a theft by which at the very least one masked and armed man entered Whitehead’s church and took jewellery from him and his spouse, in response to a separate federal indictment. Part of the incident was captured on a livestream video from contained in the church that confirmed Whitehead put his arms up and complied with the gunmen’s calls for.
He reported that the stolen jewellery was value greater than $1 million, elevating questions as to how and why the pastor obtained and flaunted such shows of wealth.
In September, two males have been indicted on federal prices for his or her alleged roles within the armed theft, whereas a 3rd defendant stays at massive, in response to the Department of Justice. Juwan Anderson, 23, and Say-Quan Pollack, 24, pleaded not responsible to the fees, and a trial date is ready for July, in response to federal courtroom data.
Whitehead’s verified Instagram account particulars his extravagant exhibits of wealth, together with Louis Vuitton-emblazoned fits, massive jewellery and brightly coloured sports activities automobiles. In a video posted shortly after the theft, he pushed again towards the media headlines referring to him as “flashy.”
“It’s not about me being flashy. It’s about me purchasing what I want to purchase,” he stated. “It’s my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase. If I worked hard for it, I can purchase what I want to purchase.”
According to his bio on the Leaders of Tomorrow web site, Whitehead attended the New York Theological Seminary and accomplished his research with a certificates in Ministry in Human Services from the Theological Institution of Rising Hope Inc. It touts him as a licensed New York state chaplain and a licensed marriage and funeral officiant. In 2013, he based Leaders of Tomorrow Ministry in Brooklyn, his bio states.