Brooklyn pastor Lamor Whitehead indicted on fraud, extortion charges

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the indictment of Lamor Whitehead, the Brooklyn pastor who was robbed during a Sunday Sermon in July.

News 12 Staff

Dec 19, 2022, 5:09 PM

Updated 737 days ago

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The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the indictment of Lamor Whitehead, the Brooklyn pastor who was robbed during a Sunday Sermon in July.
Officials say Whitehead is accused of "defrauding one of his parishioners out of part of her retirement savings, attempting to extort and defraud a businessman and lying to the FBI."
Whitehead made headlines in July when he was robbed of $1 million worth jewelry during a livestreamed Sunday sermon on Remsen Avenue in Canarsie. Two men were later charged in the armed robbery.
Two months later, authorities arrested Whitehead mid-service after a physical confrontation with a woman. 
Investigators added that the incident occurred after the woman antagonized the pastor, and he was later released.
The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York indicted Whitehead on two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion and one count of making material fake statements. 
Police say Whitehead told one of his parishioners to invest $90,000 of her retirement savings with him before he spent the money on luxury goods. He's also accused of extorting a businessman for $5,000 and attempting to convince the same man to lend him $500,000 for a stake in real estate transactions for favorable actions from New York City government officials.
Three of the charges brought against Whitehead carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison each.