A prominent New York City pastor who went viral over the summer after he was robbed during a live stream has been arrested and hit with numerous charges, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Lamor Whitehead is a Brooklyn-based pastor and community leader known for his flamboyant wardrobe and displays of wealth. He has also been noted for his connections with several high-profile public figures, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The DOJ announced on Monday that Whitehead had been arrested that morning.
According to the official statement, the pastor is accused of defrauding one of his parishioners out of their retirement savings, attempting to commit fraud and extortion against a businessman, and lying to the FBI. The parishioner and businessman that he allegedly targeted were not identified in the announcement.
"As we allege today, Lamor Whitehead abused the trust placed in him by a parishioner, bullied a businessman for $5,000, then tried to defraud him of far more than that, and lied to federal agents," Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. "His campaign of fraud and deceit stops now."
The 45-year-old pastor is now charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion, and one count of making material false statements. Each charge of wire fraud and extortion carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the false statements charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Whitehead will be presented in federal court on Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein. His case has also been assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
According to the indictment against Whitehead that was unsealed on Monday, he allegedly compelled a parishioner to invest $90,000 of her retirement funds with him, but then went on to spend the money on "luxury goods and other personal purposes."
"Whitehead extorted a businessman for $5,000," the statement read. "Then attempted to convince the same businessman to lend him $500,000 and give him a stake in certain real estate transactions in return for favorable actions from the New York City government, which Whitehead knew he could not obtain."
Finally, the indictment said that Whitehead falsely claimed to have only one cell phone when speaking with FBI agents, despite owning and frequently using a second phone.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Whitehead gained prominence over the summer, when in July a group of gunmen burst into his Leaders of Tomorrow International Church while he was in the middle of a live-streamed sermon.
The attackers made off with a high-valued collection of jewelry that the pastor had on his person at the time, with the exact value being disputed and estimated to be between $400,000 and over $1 million.
"The devil didn't want me back in this pulpit," Whitehead said in a sermon after the incident, The New York Times reported. "God said, 'You can't take his life. You can touch his material things. But you can't touch his soul.'"
According to the Times, the incident brought new scrutiny onto Whitehead's lifestyle, with some wondering how he could own so much valuable jewelry despite the minimal size of his congregation.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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