'Bling bishop' convicted of fraud AGAIN after conning old lady out of $90,000: 'Lie after lie to victim after victim'

A supposed man of the cloth known for parading about his Brooklyn pulpit wearing ostentatious suits and expensive jewelry has now been convicted of fraud. Again.

On Monday, jurors convicted Lamor Whitehead, aka the "bling bishop," of wire fraud, attempted wire fraud, attempted extortion, and lying to the FBI in connection with three separate money-related scams.

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Perhaps the most odious of the three involves Pauline Anderson, the elderly mother of a man who attended Whitehead's church, the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Anderson spent her life helping others as a nurse and over the years managed to squirrel away about $90,000 for her retirement.

Whitehead, who cultivated a relationship with Anderson's son through his ministerial work, then convinced Anderson to give him that money so that he could buy and renovate a fixer-upper for her, thereby giving her a lovely home to live out the rest of her days. But rather than buy the house, Whitehead blew the money on a BMW and flashy Louis Vuitton clothes. When Anderson's son attempted to get his mother's money back, Whitehead reportedly texted that he was calling upon God to "exact vengeance" on the man.

The second case involves Brandon Belmonte, the owner of an auto repair shop in Brooklyn. Whitehead extorted $5,000 out of Belmonte following a repair. He then also tried to persuade Belmonte to loan him an additional $500,000 in connection with a real estate venture, promising in return he would use his influence with New York City Mayor Eric Adams to secure Belmonte some political favors.

Adams has previously described himself as a "mentor" for Whitehead and other such "Black men that had negative encounters in their lives." Though photos indicate that Adams and Whitehead have been friendly at times, prosecutors claimed that Whitehead's influence in NYC is limited and that the bling bishop knew he would not be able to deliver on his promises of political favors. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Whitehead.

Finally, as Blaze News previously reported, Whitehead forged several bank documents, claiming to have millions of dollars in assets in a business that "had an average ending balance of less than ten dollars," the affidavit said. He then used the bank loans to purchase a lavish mansion in Paramus, New Jersey, and also attempted to use those funds to secure another $250,000 loan. His loan application in that case was denied, however.

Whitehead is a "con man who told lie after lie to victim after victim," prosecutors claimed.

The jury apparently agreed, and Whitehead now faces up to 45 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July. His attorney claimed his team plans to appeal.

Whitehead has a history of defrauding others to enrich himself. In 2006, he was convicted on 17 fraud-related counts after he stole someone's identity and used it to purchase cars and motorcycles. He then served seven years of a 30-year sentence. He was released in 2013 for good behavior.

In July 2022, Whitehead made national headlines after masked gunmen entered his church while he was delivering a sermon. The suspects then stole $400,000 worth of jewelry from Whitehead and his wife, and the entire incident was captured on livestream. Two of the alleged thieves, Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack, were later arrested and charged with robbery, conspiracy, and weapons-related offenses. The status of their cases is unknown.

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