NYC Mayor Adams still supports Bishop Lamor Whitehead accused of bilking Brooklyn mother - but with a caveat
Aday after allegations emerged that Bishop Lamor Whitehead bilked a Brooklyn woman out of her life’s savings, Mayor Adams defended his longtime friend on Friday, saying he’d continue to “try to mentor” the flashy preacher.
“The bishop lost his dad — Arthur Miller was his name — during a police incident,” Adams said during an unrelated press conference in the Bronx. “I have always maintained relationships with people who have gone through traumatic experiences. My goal is to mentor people who go through crisis.”
Adams’ support didn’t come without a caveat, though.
Asked whether his longtime relationship with Whitehead might change if the allegations against him are substantiated, Adams wouldn’t offer specifics, but noted that “no one is above the law.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Shawn Inglima/)
The lawsuit filed against Whitehead in Brooklyn Supreme Court is the latest in a string of high-profile stories about him. In the civil suit, Pauline Anderson accuses Whitehead of fleecing her out of her $90,000 life savings when he failed to follow through on a promise to use her cash to buy and renovate her home.
Anderson, who claims she met Whitehead through his Canarsie church, also says in her lawsuit that the preacher bought a $4.4 million home in a leafy New Jersey suburb.
Adams said Friday he’s not aware of any criminal investigation into the matter.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead (Theodore Parisienne/)
According to court documents, Whitehead — who recently ran a failed campaign to become the next Brooklyn borough president — suggested to Anderson in July 2020 that to raise enough money to buy a home, she should invest her retirement savings into his company, Lamor Whitehead Inc.
Anderson agreed, but by January 2021 their relationship — and the alleged deal — began to sour, leading Anderson to fear she’d never see a return on her investment.
By May 2021 though, Whitehead’s story changed, the lawsuit claims. He allegedly told her the money she gave him was not an investment, but instead a campaign contribution for his BP run.
“And for the record, anything that was given to me is a Donation unless it’s attached to a contract!” Whitehead allegedly wrote in the exchange revealed in court documents. “I was making investments that’s what I do!”
Video live streamed from the sermon shows the pastor being accosted by masked men, one seemingly armed with a gun. (NYPD/)
The courtroom controversy is just the latest incident involving Whitehead that’s made headlines this year.
On Sunday, he and his family were robbed at gunpoint of $1 million worth of jewelry during a service at his Remsen Ave. church. The mayor, whose friendship with Whitehead dates back years, almost immediately denounced the crime, which was caught on camera.
Whitehead himself has his own checkered past and served five years in prison for a $2 million identity theft scam. Adams has said more than once that he considers himself a mentor to the Rolls Royce-driving man of the cloth. In 2016, he introduced the preacher at a Brooklyn concert as “my good friend and good brother.”
The mayor and Whitehead also made news together earlier this year when the bishop bizarrely offered to be a go-between in the apprehension of Andrew Abdullah, who’s accused of executed of a total stranger aboard the Q train in lower Manhattan.
While Whitehead’s proposed hand-off of Abdullah to Hizzoner never took place, the suspect was still apprehended by the NYPD.
What kind of fool attends church on any ordinary Sunday with more than $2M in jewelry?
Maybe VK can tell us how Christ couldn't keep this preacher from robbing poor people.
Here is another version of the same story
Pastor who was robbed of $1M worth of jewelry at gunpoint was accused of stealing $90K from congregant while running for Brooklyn Borough president
- The New York pastor whose expensive jewelry was stolen was once accused of defrauding a woman.
- The parishioner accused bishop Lamor Whitehead of a scam where he promised to help her buy a house.
- Instead, she alleged that he pocketed the funds and used them as a campaign donation.
The New York bishop who was robbed at gunpoint during a livestreamed service was once accused of conning a congregant out of her life savings, according to court documents — all while running his unsuccessful campaign for Brooklyn Borough president in 2021.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead, known for his designer clothes and luxury cars, raised eyebrows when police valued the worth of the jewelry stolen from him and his family on Sunday to be close to $1 million. Whitehead has over 1.6 million followers on Instagram, where he regularly goes live.
The parishioner, Pauline Anderson, sued Whitehead in September 2021, alleging that she gave him $90,000 to help her buy a home after she told him she had poor credit. Per court documents, she sued him and alleged he kept the money and lined his pockets for his political campaign.
The lawsuit, first reported on by The City, alleges that Whitehead first met Anderson after he helped her son Rasheed secure housing after an intensive surgery procedure.
Anderson alleged that Whitehead helped her get in touch with two lenders who said her chances of securing a mortgage were very low because of her credit. Then, Whitehead asked Anderson to move her retirement savings into her personal bank account and offered her a deal.
By January 2021 and the ensuing months, Anderson alleged she had only received one payment of $100. She contacted Whitehead to ask for a refund, but he said he was busy campaigning for Brooklyn Borough president and had used the "investment" as a "donation," according to texts shared in the lawsuit.
"And for the record, anything that was given to me is a Donation unless it's attached to a contract! I was making investments that's what I Do!" Whitehead texted in a message to Anderson, according to an exhibit in the suit. Anderson alleged in the lawsuit that she never received a contract, and is seen asking Whitehead for a contract in text messages.
According to the lawsuit, as the deal went sour, Whitehead blamed the breakdown on Anderson's son's behavior, calling him a "liar" and the "devil."
"All of this because of what? Because you took money that you refuse to pay back and now you're quoting scripture to serve your purpose! This is so offensive and did you just go there. You said you were a man of integrity!" Anderson texted Whitehead in May 2021, alerting him that she would contact authorities about the alleged scam.
Whitehead had served five years in state prison for defrauding others and for grand larceny, according to The City.
Attorneys for both parties did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
"Ms. Anderson was instead left with nothing but a vague promise by Mr. Whitehead to pay the funds back in the future followed by an assertion that he had no further obligation to do so," the lawsuit said.
First, he said it was a donation then he said it was an investment.
First, he said it was a donation then he said it was an investment.
He speaks with a forked tongue.
I bet the bwoi lives an extra comfortable life. Jail the mother SOB.
According to the article he bought a 4.4 million dollars house in NJ.
Becareful, doan be blaming Christ for Black People behaviour.
Becareful, doan be blaming Christ for Black People behaviour.
If Christ gets the credit when people do good how come he doesn't get blamed when they do bad. He can just be one-sided and just take the credit. That would not be right.
Becareful, doan be blaming Christ for Black People behaviour.
If Christ gets the credit when people do good how come he doesn't get blamed when they do bad. He can just be one-sided and just take the credit. That would not be right.
As I said before, my homie is getting old and starting to forget what he said. Yeah, we need to jog his memory from time to time.
Becareful, doan be blaming Christ for Black People behaviour.
If Christ gets the credit when people do good how come he doesn't get blamed when they do bad. He can just be one-sided and just take the credit. That would not be right.
As I said before, my homie is getting old and starting to forget what he said. Yeah, we need to jog his memory from time to time.
The brother only wants to be one-sided with Christ. 😀
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