NY bishop sentenced to 9 years in jail for wire fraud and tried extortion, feds say

A Brooklyn bishop who authorities say stole from one among his parishioners was sentenced to 9 years in jail on Monday in a sequence of monetary fraud crimes that netted him thousands and thousands, federal prosecutors mentioned.

Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, 46, was convicted in March of wire fraud, tried wire fraud, tried extortion and making false statements to federal regulation enforcement brokers, based on an announcement from the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York.

Miller-Whitehead, a bishop on the Leaders of Tomorrow Worldwide Ministries church in Canarsie, made headlines in July 2022 when armed assailants robbed him and his spouse of $1 million price of bijou throughout a livestreamed service, police mentioned.

The bishop was referred to as a “con man” by U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams.

“Lamor Whitehead is a con man who stole thousands and thousands of {dollars} in a string of monetary frauds and even stole from one among his personal parishioners,” Williams mentioned. “He lied to federal brokers, and once more to the Court docket at his trial. Right this moment’s sentence places an finish to Whitehead’s varied schemes and displays this Workplace’s dedication to deliver accountability to those that abuse their positions of belief.”

Miller-Whitehead was additionally sentenced to a few years of supervised launch and ordered to pay $85,000 in restitution and forfeit $95,000, prosecutors mentioned.

Legal professional Daybreak Florio mentioned in a Monday assertion Miller-Whitehead is harmless and vowed his authorized combat is just not over.

“As as we speak’s sentencing was not what we had hoped for, we’re deeply saddened by the result. Regardless of this setback, we stay steadfast in our perception in Bishop Lamor Miller Whitehead’s innocence and are dedicated to persevering with the combat,” Florio mentioned.

“We’ll discover all accessible authorized avenues to make sure that justice is served. Our dedication to proving Bishop Whitehead’s innocence is unwavering, and we’ll instantly start the enchantment course of.”

In the course of the 2022 theft incident armed assailants “displayed firearms and demanded property” from the bishop and his spouse, then 38, police mentioned.

The preacher embraced his flashy life-style. He was identified for driving round in a Rolls Royce and data present he lived in a $1.6 million dwelling in Paramus, New Jersey. He additionally owned residence buildings in Hartford, Connecticut.

A quantity listed on the leaders of Tomorrow Worldwide Ministries Fb web page was not in service on Monday afternoon.

Miller-Whitehead satisfied one among his parishioners to speculate about $90,000 from her retirement financial savings with him by promising he would assist purchase her a house, prosecutors mentioned. He spent that cash on luxurious items and private bills and didn’t pay her again when she requested, prosecutors mentioned.

He additionally extorted a businessman of $5,000, prosecutors mentioned, and tried to persuade the identical man to lend him $500,000 and stake in actual property transactions in return for favorable actions from the mayor of New York Metropolis, prosecutors mentioned.

Miller-Whitehead couldn’t ship on the guarantees he made, prosecutors mentioned.

He additionally submitted a fraudulent utility for a $250,000 enterprise mortgage that included doctored financial institution statements that claimed he had thousands and thousands of {dollars} within the financial institution and earned a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} in month-to-month income.

“He submitted comparable fraudulent purposes to varied different monetary establishments, stealing thousands and thousands of {dollars} within the course of,” prosecutors mentioned.

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