Pastor Robbed Of $1M Worth Of Jewelry During Church Service Arrested On Charges Of Fraud
Lamor Whitehead went viral when he was robbed of more than $1 million worth of jewelry during a July 2022 live-streamed church service. He has now been arrested on federal financial fraud charges.
According to The New York Times, on Monday (Dec. 19), Whitehead was charged with fraud, extortion and lying to federal authorities. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Mr. Whitehead “solicited money from victims, including a retired parishioner, through threats or false promises of enriching them, then kept the money for himself.”
The accusations include a woman who was recovering from surgery and visited his church in 2020. Whitehead allegedly offered to help her purchase a home and she sent him $90,000 from a retirement account. He reportedly sent her a text that read: “I am a man of integrity and you will not lose.” However, when she asked for her money to be returned, he claimed it had already been invested.
Lamar Whitehead denies the allegations, The New York Times reports.
RELATED: Brooklyn Pastor And His Wife Robbed At Gunpoint Of At Least $400K In Jewelry During Service
Whitehead made headline news on July 24 when three masked bandits, dressed in black, stormed into the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry church with handguns. Whitehead stopped his sermon and laid on the floor, as they searched his pockets and removed jewelry from Whitehead and his wife. In September, two men were hit with federal robbery charges for the alleged crimes.
Whitehead also made news in September when he and a woman in his congregation were arrested after he grabbed her during his sermon, believing that she was going to assault his family who were sitting in the pews. Authorities released Whitehead without filing charges, but Tarsha Howard, 47, was charged with trespassing and disrupting a religious service.