By Mona Austin
SUMMARY: The feds have arrested flashy faith-leader Lamor Whitehead on fraud, extortion and lying allegations. Bishop Whitehead, 45, was released on $500,000 bond after an arraignment on Monday.
Attorney Dawn Florio, walked out of the court with Whitehead and spoke on his behalf. She said her client denies the charges as he stood beside her wearing a white hoodie and fatique pants. The charges will be worked out in civil court she added.
The pastor's travel has been restricted to the tri-state area. He resides in New Jersey.
Whitehead made news in July of 2022 when he claimed to have been robbed at gunpoint and stripped of millions of dollars of jewelry in his Brooklyn church.
Because the Bishop Whitehead preached the prosperity gospel, drives a Rolls Royce, wore excessive amounts of expensive jewelry to church and frequently dressed in luxury brands skeptics had presumed he orchestrated a scam for insurance money when the church was robbed. which fueled interest in claims of shady behavior. People thought he set up the robbery until two suspects were arrested.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation unsealed an indictment on Monday, December 19, in which it alleged Whitehead defrauded a parishioner out of $90,000 from her retirement plan, elling her he would use it to purchase her home. He is also accused of extorting a buinsessman out of $5,000 funds and asking the same person for $500,000 in exchange for favors from the City of New York and lying to the agency. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, equaling a potential 60+ years of inprisonment. The below statement detailing the allegations was released by the FBI:
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging LAMOR WHITEHEAD with defrauding one of his parishioners out of part of her retirement savings, attempting to extort and defraud a businessman, and lying to the FBI. WHITEHEAD was arrested this morning and will be presented in federal court today before United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein. The case is assigned to United States District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “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. His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now.” FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “As we allege today, Whitehead carried out several duplicitous schemes in order to receive funds from his victims. Additionally, when speaking with authorities, Whitehead consciously chose to mislead and lie to them. If you are willing to attempt 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.” According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and publicly available information:[1]
LAMOR WHITEHEAD, who leads a church in Brooklyn, New York, has engaged in a course of conduct in which he sought money and other things of value from victims on the basis of either threats or false promises that the victims’ investments would benefit the victims financially. First, WHITEHEAD induced one of his parishioners to invest approximately $90,000 of her retirement savings with him but instead spent the investment on luxury goods and other personal purposes. Second, WHITEHEAD extorted a businessman for $5,000, then attempted to convince the same businessman to lend him $500,000 and give him a stake in certain real estate transactions in return for favorable actions from the New York City government, which WHITEHEAD knew he could not obtain. In addition, when speaking with FBI agents who were executing a search warrant, WHITEHEAD falsely claimed that he had no cellphones other than the phone he was carrying when, in fact, WHITEHEAD owned a second phone, which he regularly used to communicate — including to send a text message describing it as “my other phone” shortly after telling the agents he had no other phones.
* * * WHITEHEAD, 45, of Paramus, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of making material false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hagan Scotten, Celia V. Cohen, and Andrew Rohrbach are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.