Federal authorities on Monday arrested Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead, charging him with allegedly fleecing a 56-year-old parishioner of her entire life savings, extorting a businessman, and lying to federal agents.
The parishioner, identified in an indictment as Victim-1, appears to be Pauline Anderson, who has a lawsuit pending against Whitehead alleging he bilked her out of $90,000 in retirement savings in exchange for promising to help her purchase a home that never materialized.
The allegations against Whitehead from Anderson were first reported by THE CITY in July.
That was just days after Whitehead made national headlines for being robbed at gunpoint on the pulpit alongside his wife while Whitehead was delivering a Sunday sermon that was being live streamed. Two of the three alleged robbers were arrested and charged in September.
According to federal prosecutors, Whitehead used his parishioner’s money “to purchase thousands of dollars of luxury goods and clothing” and “never helped” her obtain a home, ignoring her requests to return her money.
A representative for the law firm representing Anderson in an ongoing lawsuit against Whitehead declined to comment.
The unsealed indictment from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams also alleges that Whitehead “used threats of force” to attempt to get $5,000 from a businessman earlier this year.
The indictment alleges the bishop attempted to get the businessman to lend him around $500,000 and...
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