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Lamor Whitehead, known as New York's "Bling Bishop," has been sent to jail ahead of his sentencing for extortion and fraud.
According to the New York Daily, Manhattan Federal Judge Lorna Schofield recently revoked Whitehead's bail after he was convicted of one count of making false statements to the FBI, one count of attempted extortion, one count of attempted wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud in March.
During a two-week trial, Whitehead, pastor at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries, was accused of convincing Anderson to give him $90,000 of her retirement fund under false promises of helping her purchase a new home. The bishop reportedly used the money to pay for luxury items.
Anderson gave Whitehead the money, believing he was a "man of God."
“I believed him as the leader of his church,” Anderson previously said.
According to prosecutors, Whitehead also attempted to extort $5,000 from a businessman identified as Brandon Belmonte. He later tried to convince the man “to lend him $500,000 and give him a stake in certain real estate transactions" in exchange for “favorable actions” from New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“As a unanimous jury found, Lamor Whitehead abused the trust placed in him by a parishioner, tried to obtain a fraudulent loan using fake bank records, bullied a businessman for $5,000, tried to defraud him out of far more than that, and lied to federal agents,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams previously said in a statement.
Whitehead had urged Schofield to allow him to remain on bail until his sentencing while prosecutors pushed for immediate action, arguing that the "Bling Bishop" had declined to take accountability for his crimes.
“It would be devastating to take me away from my two 16-year-old children, my nine-year-old daughter, and my two-year-old baby girl," Whitehead wrote in a letter to the judge.
Whitehead was sent to federal jail and his sentencing was moved up to June 17.
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