Flashy Brooklyn pastor Lamor Whitehead has been arrested on charges of fraud, extortion, and lying to federal authorities, The New York Times reports.
According to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, Whitehead had scammed money out of multiple victims including a retired parishioner he received $90,000 from. He told his alleged victims that he would fufill promises he never followed up on, or said he could make them richer through investments. The charges stem from alleged behavior from before he was robbed at gunpoint during a live-streamed sermon at his church, Leads of Tomorrow International Ministries, in July earlier this year.
Through his lawyer Dawn Florio, Whitehead denied the allegations against him. “Bishop Whitehead denies these allegations and we are going to fight them vigorously,” said Florio.
The incident involving one woman Whitehead pocketed $90,000 from began in 2020, when she was recovering from surgery and he offered to help her buy a new home. The woman, Pauline Anderson, filed a lawsuit against him earlier this year, and said she withdrew the funds from her retirement account. She asked him for the money back, but he had already invested it elsewhere by the point she did.
Per The New York Post, Whitehead has also been accused of extorting a businessman for $5,000. He asked the same man to loan him $500,000, which he said would “obtain favorable actions by the New York City government.” In a statement, FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said, “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."
Whitehead was also arrested in September after he got into an altercation with a woman who attended his service.
