Lamor Whitehead: Arrested Rolls Royce-driving NY bishop says God helped him buy ‘Gucci, Fendi, and Louis’
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: The flamboyant Brooklyn Bishop who was robbed in the middle of a live-streamed church service in July has been taken into custody and charged with attempted extortion, wire fraud, and giving false statements to the FBI. Bishop Lamor Whitehead, who openly boasted of his opulent lifestyle and strong relationship with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, is accused by the FBI of earning at least some of his wealth by extorting a businessman and defrauding a parishioner of thousands of dollars.
After being arrested on Monday, Whitehead entered a not-guilty plea in US District Court in Manhattan on Monday, December 19, according to a press release from the department of justice. The records claim that the allegedly stolen funds, which totaled about $90,000 from the parishioner, were used to purchase "luxury goods and clothing." If found guilty of the charges against him, he may spend up to 20 years in prison, as reported by BBC.
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Less than 24 hours prior to his arrest, Whitehead gave a sermon on Sunday, December 18, in which he claimed that his "Gucci, Fendi, and Louis" attire was evidence that his success was a result of a combination of God's will, unshakeable faith, and monetary donations, The Washington Post reported. "Everybody thought that I was a villain," Miller-Whitehead said, according to the Post. "But now they're seeing I was anointed by God."
However, according to federal prosecutors, Whitehead's ability to support his luxurious lifestyle wasn't entirely due to God's will. "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 said in a statement Monday. "His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now." The FBI alleges that Whitehead "sought money and other things of value from victims on the basis of either threats or false promises," according to the criminal indictment.
The Bishop gained notoriety in July after a masked assailant broke into the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries church in Canarsie, Brooklyn, and stole $1 million from him and his family during a sermon that was being live-streamed. In footage of the church's Livestream obtained by WCBS, Whitehead can be heard saying, "How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die?"
He then abruptly stops, seemingly observing the gunmen enter the church through its doors. Then, as one of the perpetrators can be seen placing a gun at Whitehead's back and starting to take off his jewels, Whitehead instantly falls to the ground in submission. He claimed to have seen the robbers brandish a gun at his wife and their 8-month-old child, per reports from Insider.
After snatching his chains, watch, wedding band, cross, and jewels from his wife, the burglars made off with almost $1 million worth of jewelry. Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack, who were both 23 at the time of their arrest on July 24, were arrested by the FBI around two months after the attack. A third gunman is still on the loose. Whitehead's income, fancy wardrobe, and the reason for the robbery all came under scrutiny after the incident.