Bishop Lamor Whitehead has been convicted of fraud, lying to the FBI, and attempted extortion.
According to reports, he tried to scam an elderly woman out of her retirement savings and used his connections to the mayor to attempt to extort a business owner in the Bronx.
On Monday a Manhattan jury found the Bishop guilty on all counts which also include attempted wire fraud, attempted extortion, and wire fraud. During his trial, prosecutors said that Bishop Whitehead was “a conman who told lie after lie to victim after victim.”
He had allegedly convinced Pauline Anderson to invest a huge amount of money into a house that he claimed that he was going to buy for her and fix it for her. However, the money went to fund his lavish lifestyle. He made purchases on high end clothing brands, and made payments on his BMW. The prosecution also states that Bishop Whitehead also tried to get $500,000 out of Brandon Belamonte, an auto body shop owner, in exchange for favors from Mayor Eric Adams.
Prosecutor Jessica Greenwood said, “Whitehead lied, cheated, and stole to keep up a wealthy appearance.” She continued, “he used lies and threats to get money from his victims and when lies caught up to him, he lied to the FBI.
Back in 2022, Bishop Lamor Whitehead made headlines after he and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in the middle of a sermon that was being live-streamed. The three robbers took the Bishop’s $75,000 Rolex, a $75,000 Cavalier watch, and $25,000 Ruby and Diamond ring as well as other valuable items.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead is set to be sentenced on July 1, and is looking at 45 years in prison.