'Bling Bishop’ Lamor Whitehead Sent To Jail: Feds

NEW YORK CITY — Lamor Whitehead, the “Bling Bishop” from Canarsie, has been sent to jail before his July sentencing after a judge determined one of his crimes — an attempted extortion — required him to be put behind bars.

In a May 14 memo to Judge Lorna G. Schofield, prosecutors argued that the attempted extortion was a "crime of violence" and "this is, in sum, a mandatory detention case."

Schofield agreed, and Monday revoked Whitehead's bail and ordered him to put in custody.

Whitehead, a pastor at Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries, was found guilty back in March of scamming Pauline Anderson out of $90,000 and trying to extort money from a Bronx body shop owner as well as lying to the FBI, prosecutors said.

Anderson was scammed by Whitehead to invest her retirement money in a house that she thought he would buy and renovate for her, according to prosecutors. The Brooklyn pastor proceeded to take her money and spend it on luxury clothing and a BMW.

In the case of the Bronx body shop, Whitehead tried to get half a million dollars from the owner and in return he promised favors from Mayor Eric Adams, prosecutors said.

The pastor’s sentencing was scheduled for July 1. He faces up to 85 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

In addition, Whitehead violated a restraining order in an April 30 livestreamed service where he used a Bible psalm to intimidate Anderson, prosecutors argued in court filings. The pastor also flashed confidential case documents during the livestream.

Whitehead plans to appeal the judge’s decision, said his defense attorney, Dawn Florio.

“While we respect the court’s authority, we firmly believe in Bishop Whitehead’s innocence and are committed to pursuing justice on his behalf,” Florio told the New York Post.

“Bishop Whitehead plans to appeal the verdict and will continue to fight for the truth. We have full faith in the legal process and are confident that justice will ultimately prevail.”