'Bling Bling Bishop' Behind Bars: Whitehead Arrested, Feds Say

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Brooklyn's "Bling Bling Bishop" stands accused of acquiring his wealth through less than holy means, federal officials announced Monday.

Bishop Lamor Whitehead — the Paramus resident famously robbed last summer of flashy jewelry during a live-streamed sermon from his Brooklyn church — was arrested Monday morning on charges of fraud, extortion and lying to federal agents, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.

The so-called “Bling Bling Bishop” — known for flaunting hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry, fine Fendi suits and driving two different Rolls-Royce cars worth upward of $400,000 each while preaching from a run-down Canarsie event space — acquired at least some of his prosperity through fraud, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

“As we allege today, Lamor Whitehead abused the trust placed in him by a parishioner, bullied a businessman for $5,000, then tried to defraud him of far more than that, Williams said. "And [Whitehead] lied to federal agents."

Calls made to Whitehead's phone were directed to a voicemail at full capacity and a lawyer who represented Whitehead in past lawsuits — including in last month's promised "plague" of litigation for his haters — declined to comment.

Charges for Whitehead, 45, include two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion and one count of making false statements.

If convicted, Whitehead could face a maximum of 45 years behind bars.

"Whitehead carried out several duplicitous schemes in order to receive funds from his victims," FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said. "Additionally, when speaking with authorities, Whitehead consciously chose to mislead and lie to them."

One of the charges relates to former parishioner Pauline Anderson, who says Whitehead convinced her to invest nearly $90,000 of her life savings into a real estate scheme.

The U.S. Attorney's office contends Whitehead spent the money on a luxury shopping spree.

Anderson's lawyer told Patch that he had no comment in light of today's arrest.

Whitehead first came to prominence this year when he played a role in delivering an accused subway gunman to authorities.

The bishop became world famous for a live-streamed robbery where gunman burst into his rented Canarsie event space during a sermon, robbing him and his wife of what police said was over a million dollars of jewelry.

Two of the gunmen were caught in September, police said.

Whitehead will appear in court Monday in front of United States District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.