If you didn’t know, the church leader was arrested on these charges back in December of 2022. It started by him and his wife making national headlines in July 2022 when they were robbed at gunpoint while he was in the middle of delivering a livestreamed sermon. Three masked men bombarded the service, and ultimately ended up running off with two $75,000 watches, a $25,000 ruby and diamond ring and other valuables.
On Monday the “flashy pastor” Lamor Whitehead was convicted of fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI for scamming Pauline Anderson which is the elderly mother of a parishioner, out of $90,000. In return he persuaded Anderson to invest the massive sum for a house he promised he would buy for her and fix up. He also tried to extort thousands more from a Bronx auto body shop owner with promises to obtain “official favors” from Mayor Eric Adams on his behalf, federal prosecutors said.
The false statement charge stemmed from him lying to FBI agents about how many phones he owned after they obtained a search warrant related to the fraud investigation. The Bishop is set for sentencing in July of 2024 and could face up to 45 years in prison.
