Flashy Brooklyn pastor arrested and charged with fraud, extortion

If found guilty, Whitehead could face up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud and up to 20 years for the extortion charge.

TheGrio Staff

Dec 20, 2022

Bishop Lamor Whitehead, the pastor who leads Brooklyn’s Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry, has been charged with defrauding a parishioner of her life savings and other charges.

On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announced charges of fraud, extortion and delivering false statements to the FBI.

The press release states that Whitehead, 45, “induced” one of his parishioners to invest $90,000 of her retirement savings with promises of securing the woman a house and build her investment portfolio. Whitehead allegedly used the funds for “luxury goods and other personal purposes.”

Lamor Whitehead, the pastor of Brooklyn’s Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry, has been charged with defrauding a parishioner of her life savings and other charges. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The second listed charge involved Whitehead extorting $5,000 from a Brooklyn businessman and threatening violence. Whitehead also attempted to secure $500,000 from the same gentleman and falsely promised both a stake in real estate investments along with favorable assistance from the New York City government, “which Whitehead knew he could not obtain.”

The final charge stems from Whitehead allegedly lying to FBI agents about ownership of a second cellphone. According to the charge, he knowingly informed agents conducting a search under a warrant that he only owned one cellphone and did not own another one after sending a text on a second phone that he referred to as “my other phone.”

Whitehead made a court appearance on Monday and was released on a $500,000 personal recognizance bond, according to statements by the U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Nicholas Biase, CNN reported.

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NYPD: Preacher, wife robbed of $1M in jewelry during sermon

Over the summer, Whitehead made headlines after he was robbed alongside his wife while delivering a sermon. Two of the three assailants were arrested in September, The City report.

If found guilty, Whitehead could face up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud, up to 20 years for the extortion charge, and up to five years in prison for delivering false statements, according to the press release.