Prosecutors: Fraud fed Brooklyn preacher’s flashy lifestyle
A Brooklyn preacher known for his close friendship with New York City’s mayor and a previous stint behind bars was indicted Monday on charges he plundered a parishioner’s retirement savings to bankroll his flashy lifestyle and extorted a businessman by falsely claiming he could lean on city connections to make “millions” together.
Lamor Miller-Whitehead — a Rolls Royce-driving bishop who made headlines in July when armed bandits crashed his church service and robbed him of $1 million in jewelry — is charged with wire fraud, extortion and making material false statements for allegedly lying to FBI agents by denying he had a second cell phone. The wire fraud and extortion charges each carry a maximum punishment of up to 20 years in prison.
Miller-Whitehead’s “campaign of fraud and deceit stops now,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.