The striking Brooklyn bishop accused of cheating a parishioner’s mother out of her life savings and blowing the money on designer clothes and flashy supercars has been convicted.
Jurors in Manhattan Federal Court found 47-year-old Lamor Miller-Whitehead guilty of five charges, including wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to FBI agents about having a second cellphone on Monday.
The charges stemmed from three separate schemes and carry a prison sentence of up to 45 years.
Whitehead, infamously known as the “Bling Bishop,” led a church in Canarsie called Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries.
He was accused of defrauding Pauline Anderson, an elderly single mother, of $90,000 with the promise that he would buy her a house. Instead, prosecutors said, he spent the money on luxury items.
Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, 47, of Brooklyn, was found guilty Monday of five charges, including wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI.
The charges stem from three separate incidents and carry a maximum prison sentence of 45 years
Whitehead became known as the ‘Bling Bishop’ when he donned designer clothes and drove around town in a Rolls-Royce
Last month, Whitehead appeared in court with a Fendi backpack worth $2,250.
Before his lengthy record of deception was exposed, the Rolls Royce-driving bishop was “trusted by many in his community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Greenwood said at the time.
“The defendant abused that trust by lying again and again,” she said.
‘He lied about how much money he had. He lied about his business plans. And he lied about his influence over powerful people. All with the aim of acquiring money and property to finance his extravagant lifestyle.’
She accused Whitehead of convincing the elderly woman, a former nurse, that he would use her retirement savings to buy a fixer-upper house and renovate it so she could live in it.
“And she believed the defendant — a man who by then had become a mentor and spiritual advisor to her son,” Greenwood continued.
Whitehead ended up spending the money on designer clothes and a BMW payment.
When the victim’s son tried to get the money back from his mother, Whitehead said in a text message that he asked God to “take revenge” on the man.
Two other schemes targeted a money lending company and a Bronx businessman.
Prosecutors said Bishop prepared false bank statements to secure a $250,000 loan, claiming he had millions in a business account that actually contained less than $6.
He was also accused of attempting to extort $5,000 from Brandon Belmonte, the owner of a Bronx auto body shop, after a repair.
Prosecutors alleged that Whitehead further tried to convince Belmonte to loan him $500,000 and give him a stake in real estate transactions, insisting that his connections to city officials could get them favorable treatment and make them millions.
Belmonte itself was hit with federal bank and wire fraud charges in August 2023. The 39-year-old was accused of running a financing scheme through his car rental company and an insurance scam.
He appeared in court last month with a Fendi backpack worth $2,250
Whitehead (pictured with attorney Dawn Florio) was accused of defrauding a parishioner’s mother out of her savings and wasting the money on luxury clothing and a BMW payment
In two other schemes, he targeted a money-lending company and the owner of an auto body shop in the Bronx
Records show Whitehead lived in a $1.6 million home in Paramus, New Jersey. He was arrested in December 2022 but was released after posting $500,000 bail
Records show Whitehead lived in a $1.6 million home in Paramus, New Jersey, and owned several apartment buildings in Hartford, Connecticut.
He was arrested in December 2022 in connection with the cases heard in federal court, but was released after posting $500,000 bail.
The pastor also made headlines for his ties to New York Mayor Eric Adams, whom he unsuccessfully sought to succeed as Brooklyn borough president in 2021.
Adams refused to endorse Whitehead in the race and blasted him for using his name in a “misleading” campaign ad, text messages shown during the trial showed.
Dawn Florio, an attorney for Whitehead, plans to appeal the verdict. During the trial, she maintained that the evidence presented did not support the allegations.
Whitehead’s sentencing before Judge Lorna G. Schofield is scheduled for July 1.