Brooklyn pastor 'Bling Bishop' sentenced to 9 years in prison for fraud, extortion

A flamboyant Brooklyn bishop, widely known as the “Bling Bishop,” was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison for financial fraud schemes that included stealing tens of thousands from a parishioner and trying to extort a businessman, federal prosecutors said.

Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, 45, was convicted in March of two counts of wire fraud, one count of attempted wire fraud, and one count of attempted extortion, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He was also found guilty of one count of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.

Miller-Whitehead’s convictions stemmed from three separate schemes, in which prosecutors said he stole millions of dollars.

“Lamor Whitehead is a con man who stole millions of dollars in a string of financial frauds and even stole from one of his own parishioners,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “He lied to federal agents, and again to the Court at his trial. Today’s sentence puts an end to Whitehead’s various schemes and reflects this Office’s commitment to bring accountability to those who abuse their positions of trust.”

In addition to Miller-Whitehead’s prison sentence, prosecutors said the 45-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $85,000 in restitution and forfeit $95,000.

Miller-Whitehead was a bishop at the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries church in Canarsie, Brooklyn, which he helped form after serving five years in prison for identity theft and grand larceny.

He was known for his flashy lifestyle and lived in a $1.6 million mansion in Paramus, New Jersey. Miller-Whitehead also owned several apartment buildings in Hartford, Connecticut.

The bishop made headlines in July 2022 when armed assailants robbed him and his wife during a live-streamed church service. At the time, police said Miller-Whitehead was robbed of $1 million worth of jewelry.

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Bling Bishop stole about $90K from parishioner's retirement savings

According to an indictment, Miller-Whitehead stole from his parishioners, attempted to defraud and extort a businessman, and committed loan fraud. He also falsely promised favors to New York City Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for lucrative deals.

Prosecutors said Miller-Whitehead had persuaded one of his parishioners to invest about $90,000 of her retirement savings by promising her that he would use the money to help her purchase a home. But instead of aiding her, he spent the money on personal expenses, such as luxury items.

When the parishioner demanded that Miller-Whitehead repay her, "he continued to lie to avoid returning the money," prosecutors added.

In another scheme, prosecutors said Miller-Whitehead extorted a businessman out of $5,000. He later tried to persuade the same man to lend him a $500,000 loan and give him a stake in real estate transactions by falsely promising favorable actions from Adams.

Miller-Whitehead also submitted a fraudulent application for a $250,000 business loan, which included fabricated bank statements that claimed he had "millions of dollars in the bank and hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue," according to prosecutors.

In addition to the three schemes, prosecutors said Miller-Whitehead provided false statements to FBI agents during a search of his New Jersey mansion. He falsely claimed that he only possessed one cellphone and concealed the existence of a second cellphone that he used regularly and was inside his house at the time of the search, according to prosecutors.

Bling Bishop's ties to NYC Mayor Eric Adams

Before Miller-Whitehead's arrest, he had close ties with Adams, who served as Brooklyn's borough president from 2014 to 2021.

USA TODAY previously reported that when Miller-Whitehead was arrested on wire fraud and extortion charges in December 2022, Adams said he "spent decades enforcing the law" and expected "everyone to follow it."

"I have also dedicated my life to assisting individuals with troubled pasts," Adams said at the time. "While these allegations are troubling, I will withhold further comment until the process reaches its final conclusion."

CBS News reported that Adams addressed Miller-Whitehead's conviction on Monday, saying the bishop was in his "prayers, and I wish the best for him."

Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; Manahil Ahmad, NorthJersey.com