Brooklyn’s “bling bishop,” who was known for paying glory to designers rather than God, is looking at major jail time after being convicted of fraud for a second time.
Bling Bishop looking at decades behind bars
Lamor Whitehead, a scammy pastor who reveled in displaying his extravagant lifestyle, complete with designer suits and high-end jewelry, while preaching from the pulpit, has been found guilty of multiple fraud charges.
On Monday, the court delivered a verdict that slapped the “bling bishop” with convictions including wire fraud, attempted wire fraud, attempted extortion, and making false statements to the FBI.
He was convicted of three different money-related scams, one of which relied on borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
Whitehead straight up forged financial credentials in bank documents, claiming to have million in assets in a company nearly bankrupt, to secure loans for purchasing a mansion in New Jersey.
He then tried to parlay the that fraudulent cash as security for another $250,000 loan—a request ultimately denied.
The bling bishop didn’t just attempt to defraud financial institutions, the supposed man of the cloth went after average people that didn’t have the insurance to cover their losses like a bank would.
Brandon Belmonte, a Brooklyn auto shop owner, was ripped off for $5,000 after he brought his car in for a repair. The silver-tongued convicted felon tried to swindle the man out of an astonishing $500,000 loan for real estate opportunity, by leveraging supposed political favors he could squeeze New York City mayor Eric Adams for.
Bling Bishop rips off elderly woman of retirement funds
In arguably his most heinous act, Whitehead deceived Pauline Anderson, an elderly retiree and the mother of one of his congregants, out of her life savings.
Anderson, who worked her entire life as a nurse, had socked away $90,000 in retirement funds. Trusting Whitehead, she handed over her savings under the belief he was renovating a fixer-upper home for her.
Rather than building the house he promised the woman, Whitehead squandered the money on a brand new BMW and Louis Vuitton apparel.
When confronted by Anderson’s son for the return of the funds, Whitehead reportedly threatened divine retribution in a text message.
During the trial prosecutors tagged Whitehead as nothing short of a “con man,” who remorselessly lied to his multiple victims.
The jury, who couldn’t deny the allegations, returned a verdict setting Whitehead up for a potential 45-year prison sentence come July, a judgment Whitehead’s attorney has signaled will be contested.
The “bling bishop” is not unfamiliar with the legal system, having been convicted back in 2006 on numerous fraud counts relating to identity theft.
Instead of spending the 30 years he was originally sentenced to behind bars, Whitehead got out in 2013 on good behavior and went on to continue his lifestyle of exploiting victims as a wolf in preachers clothing.
His web of lies began to unravel in 2022 when he was robbed at gunpoint in the middle of a live-streamed church service while wearing $400,000 worth of jewelry.
