Gossip has it that Bishop Lamor Whitehead might be looking at a lengthy stay behind bars for his shady dealings and deceitful ways that have finally caught up with him. It’s a classic case of what’s done in the the dark comes to the light.
This phony pastor seems to have a knack for finding trouble. Remember when he made headlines for getting robbed at gunpoint during a church service? Well, now he’s in even hotter water. Bishop Whitehead got busted by the feds for conning one of his parishioner’s mother out of a whopping $90,000 and pulling off other scams. He even had the audacity to claim that the Mayor of New York gave him “the key to the city” to aid in his fraudulent activities.
After a swift trial, the 46-year-old con artist posing as a bishop was found guilty on multiple charges, including wire fraud, attempted extortion, and lying to the FBI. The jury wasted no time deliberating in Manhattan Federal Court Monday, reaching a verdict in just three hours.
His attorney, Dawn Florio, is putting up a fight, vowing to appeal the decision despite the overwhelming evidence against her deceitful client. Perhaps she should focus on negotiating a lighter sentence for the flashy bishop, although he probably deserves every bit of the 45 years he’s staring down for preying on innocent victims.
Initially claiming innocence, Whitehead was ultimately convicted.
Jurors hear evidence against Bishop Lamor Whithead
In the courtroom, jurors were presented with the story of a fake bishop who preyed on a single mother connected to his parishioner at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie, Brooklyn. The victim, Pauline Anderson, was targeted alongside a supposed money lending company and Bronx entrepreneur, Brandon Belmonte.
Assistant U.S. attorney Jessica Greenwood informed the jurors that Whitehead was considered trustworthy by “many” in his community, but he ultimately betrayed that trust through a series of lies.
During her testimony, Anderson became emotional as she recounted how she had placed her faith in Whitehead as a “mentor and spiritual guide” for her son, investing $90,000 of her hard-earned savings from her nursing career. Whitehead had promised to use the money to purchase and renovate a run-down property since he was unable to secure a loan from the bank.
According to Anderson, Whitehead had officiated her son Rasheed Anderson’s wedding and introduced him to individuals who assisted him in buying his own home.
“I trusted him,” an emotional Anderson testified Feb. 27. “He said he had real estate experience. He was a man of God — he prayed for me in earnest. I believe in God, so I believed he would honestly help me to get this house.”
Bishop Lamor Whitehead lied about investment and spent $90,000 on himself
The evidence presented by the prosecutors reveals that Whitehead splurged the money on himself, indulging in fancy designer outfits, a sleek BMW, gourmet meals from Grubhub, trendy kicks from Foot Locker, and other extravagant buys. When the victim’s son attempted to reclaim his mother’s savings, Whitehead callously texted him, saying he was “asking God to exact vengeance on him.”
Whitehead uses Mayor Eric Adams as a decoy to try to extort Bronx businessman Brandon Belmonte
In a sneaky move, Whitehead allegedly pulled off another shady scheme by leveraging his connection to Mayor Adams to secure a $500,000 real estate investment from Belmonte. According to the feds, Whitehead deceived Belmonte by claiming that Mayor Adams held the key to unlocking potential obstacles, like stop-work orders, on a property they were considering purchasing together.
However, the feds assert that Whitehead’s assurances of receiving special treatment from Mayor Eric Adams were nothing but empty promises.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead take the stand
Whitehead, in his testimony, alleged that an FBI agent had pushed him to “help us get the mayor of New York,” as reported by The New York Times. However, prosecutors dismissed his claims as false during his time on the stand.
In another instance of fraud for which Whitehead was found guilty, evidence revealed that he fabricated bank statements to secure a $250,000 loan, falsely indicating he had millions in a company account that actually held less than $6.
Come July 1, Whitehead could potentially be looking at a sentence of up to 45 years in prison.
