(NewsReady.com) – New York Bishop Lamor Whitehead was preaching a sermon on Sunday, July 24, 2022, when armed men robbed him. The crime was captured on a live stream, and police later arrested two men for the incident. Now, federal authorities have arrested the minister as well for a multitude of alleged crimes.
On December 19, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) announced the arrest of Whitehead, who is also known as the “Bling Bishop.” According to authorities, the bishop convinced one of his parishioners to give him $90,000 of her retirement money to invest. He reportedly spent the money on himself.
Whitehead also allegedly extorted someone else for $5,000. US Attorneys say he then tried to convince the same victim to give him a loan for half a million dollars.
U.S. Attorney announces arrest of Lamor Whitehead for fraud, extortion, and false statements@NewYorkFBI https://t.co/RaCEjcbCrY
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 19, 2022
In addition to the crimes against his parishioners, Whitehead is accused of lying to the FBI. He is now charged with one count of extortion, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of making material false statements. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
US Attorney Damian Williams accused Whitehead of abusing the trust of his parishioners by allegedly defrauding and bullying them. He went on to say the bishop’s “campaign of fraud and deceit stops now.”
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