Brooklyn’s ‘bling bishop’ Lamor Whitehead will spend 9 years behind bars for a litany of crimes together with defrauding and extorting his personal parishioners.
The 46-year-old church chief was discovered responsible in March of 5 counts together with wire fraud, tried extortion and mendacity to the FBI – stemming from three separate schemes.
Whitehead – who turned infamous for the luxurious fits he wore and the Rolls Royce he drove whereas working the Leaders of Tomorrow Worldwide Ministries in Canarsie – has been held in custody since Decide Lorna G. Schofield revoked his bail final month.
She admonished him on the time for making false statements about regulation enforcement officers and his victims on social media, and hit out at Whitehead once more on Monday, after he pleaded for her mercy, the New York Occasions experiences.
‘I do not see any regret to your conduct,’ Schofield mentioned, including that he didn’t appear to understand the consequences his crimes had on his victims – and even the essential information of the case.
Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead was sentenced Monday to 9 years behind bars
Among the many crimes Whitehead was discovered responsible of was conning Pauline Anderson, an aged single mom, out of $90,000 from her retirement fund.
He had promised to purchase assist her obtain her lifelong aim of shopping for a house, however prosecutors mentioned he as an alternative spent the cash on procuring sprees at Polo and Louis Vuitton and on funds for a BMW.
When the sufferer’s son ultimately tried to get recoup his mom’s funds, Whitehead mentioned in a textual content message he was asking God to ‘precise vengeance’ upon the person.
Two different schemes focused a money-lending firm and a Bronx businessman.
He was discovered responsible in March of 5 counts together with wire fraud, tried extortion and mendacity to the FBI about having a second cellphone – stemming from three separate schemes
Whitehead turned infamous for the luxurious fits he wore and the Rolls Royce he drove whereas working the Leaders of Tomorrow Worldwide Ministries in Canarsie
Prosecutors mentioned the bishop drew up pretend financial institution statements to safe a $250,000 mortgage, claiming that he had hundreds of thousands in an organization account that truly contained lower than $6.
He was additionally accused of trying to extort $5,000 from Brandon Belmonte, the proprietor of a Bronx auto physique store, after a restore job.
Prosecutors alleged Whitehead additional tried to persuade Belmonte to lend him $500,000 and give him a stake in actual property offers, insisting his connections to metropolis officers may earn them favorable remedy and rating them hundreds of thousands.
In a single recording of a dialog between Whitehead and Belmonte – who was carrying a wire for the FBI, the pastor might be heard telling the auto physique store that he had ‘the important thing to town’ and that he may procure favors from Mayor Eric Adams – together with getting permits to function reasonably priced housing or lifting stop-work orders at development websites.
These claims had been false, prosecutors argued.
Prosecutors have mentioned Whitehead instructed one in all his victims he may procure favors from Mayor Eric Adams
They argued in a pre-sentencing memo that Whitehead was a ‘profession conman and liar’ who dedicated fraud for greater than 20 years.
They claimed he abused his place as a spiritual chief to rake in hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, and famous that after his conviction in March, Whitehead tried to promote authorized paperwork from his case.
Prosecutors additionally identified that in 2008, Whitehead was convicted of a number of expenses of id theft for a scheme wherein he secured automobiles and bikes utilizing different folks’s names. He served 5 years in jail for the crime.
‘This defendant has repeatedly dedicated severe crimes and repeatedly solid the blame for them on everybody however himself,’ the prosecutors wrote within the pre-sentencing memo.
Then in courtroom on Monday, Pauline Anderson teared up as she described how she spent a lifetime working – solely to lose her complete retirement fund when she gave it to Whitehead.
‘I misplaced every part I had labored for,’ she mentioned, including that Whitehead’s betrayal ‘broke my coronary heart, my spirit and my soul.’
Her son, Rasheed Anderson, 30, who was as soon as an acolyte of Whitehead’s, additionally mentioned his mother was a hardworking single dad or mum from Jamaica who helped assist many kinfolk – at all times placing herself final, the Occasions experiences.
‘I used to be used and brought benefit of, and due to that I’ve to see my mom undergo due to Lamor Whitehead’s deceit,’ he mentioned.
His protection attorneys argued he’s a person of religion and ought to be ‘freed instantly’
However Whitehead’s protection attorneys argued he ought to be ‘freed instantly’ on supervised launch.
His lawyer Daybreak Florio argued he’s a person of religion who had executed charitable work and who has even sought to enter public service because the Brooklyn borough president.
She pointed to quite a few letters from parishioners on the Leaders of Tomorrow Worldwide Ministries praising Whitehead, and argued he might have PTSD from a caught-on-camera theft whereas he was giving a sermon two years in the past.
Two males have since pleaded responsible to the theft and are on account of be sentenced in August, whereas a 3rd man who was charged within the heist died in a shootout with US Marshals in January.
Whitehead additionally pleaded for a lighter sentence – highlighting his work in a poor group in Brooklyn
In the meantime, Whitehead pleaded with the decide for a lighter sentence- highlighting his work in a poor group in Brooklyn, in line with the Occasions.
He talked about a number of police and elected officers he mentioned he labored with on gun buybacks, youth packages and ‘untold turkey giveaways,’ claiming: ‘I’m a pillar of the group.’
‘Your honor, I’m an honorable man and my kids want me,’ Whitehead mentioned, the New York Put up experiences.
‘Permit me to be the poster little one of one other probability.’
However Schofield disagreed, arguing he didn’t take accountability for his actions, and sentenced him to serve 9 years in jail with three years post-release supervision.
Exterior of courtroom, Rasheed Anderson mentioned he had hoped Schofield would order an extended jail sentence, however added that he hopes the sentencing will result in his mom recovering her hard-earned cash.
‘It has been a traumatic occasion for all of us,’ he instructed the Occasions.
‘That is our first step towards closure.’
