At first glance, it’s easy to identify why Lamor Whitehead is not your ordinary church bishop. If you take a quick scroll through his Instagram page, you will see the bishop living a lavish lifestyle that includes driving a Rolls-Royce, being draped in expensive jewelry, and wearing high fashion clothing. Whitehead is wearing Gucci, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton outfits in most of his photos.
The bishop recently made national headlines when three masked men robbed him during a live stream of his church service on July 24 in Brooklyn, New York. The robbers removed jewelry from Bishop Whitehead and his wife. The total value of the heist is estimated to be around $1 million. Due to Whitehead’s criminal past, some skeptics classify the robbery as being staged and accuse Whitehead of using the robbery as a tactic to assist him in collecting insurance money.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Lamor Whitehead attended Eastern New Mexico University. After college, he transitioned to the workforce, where he landed a job in Manhattan as a mortgage broker. Apparently, his job salary wasn’t enough as he turned to a life of criminal activity. In 2005 Whitehead’s girlfriend worked at a car dealership that gave her access to customers’ credit reports, and Whitehead took full advantage of the situation.
According to the 2006 indictment, Whitehead gained access to his girlfriend’s log-in information on her home computer and stole the identities of at least a dozen people. He used the stolen data to take out loans and make extravagant purchases. He would end up serving approximately six years in jail for identity theft and grand larceny. After his release from prison, Whitehead took the necessary steps required to become a man of the cloth.
Since the recent robbery, more skeletons have come out of Bishop Whitehead’s closet. A lawsuit filed against him by a former church member has resurfaced. The suit alleges that the church member handed her life savings of $90,000 to the bishop so he could help her purchase and renovate a home, but the pastor allegedly kept the money and told her he was treating it as a donation to his campaign for Brooklyn borough president.
Sticking to the residential subject, Bishop Whitehead’s home has been linked to some unusual movement. The pastor purchased a $1.6 million home in Paramus, New Jersey, three years ago. In August 2021, he transferred the deed from his name to his company’s name Lamor Whitehead Inc. In May 2022, he transferred the deed from Lamor Whitehead Inc. back to his name. Court records from New Jersey show that Bishop Whitehead owes more than $400,000 in judgments to a construction company that built his house and the credit union that financed his Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover.
On August 17, D.L. Hughley interviewed Bishop Whitehead, who didn’t appreciate the segment’s tone. Sitting in his Rolls-Royce and wearing a big Cuban link chain, Whitehead voiced his displeasure on his Instagram video. He described the interview as an ambush that villainized and disrespected him. The pastor proceeded to state how D.L. Hughley hides behind the mic, and he challenged Hughley to a million-dollar boxing match.
“DL, You’re A PUNK! You picked the Wrong Pastor To Try And Walk Over! DL, Let’s Work It Out In The Ring! All I Need Is One Round,” the pastor posted on social media. Hughley responded by posting, “What “Pastor” you know can PUT UP A MILLION DOLLARS RIGHT NOW?? Reading from the book of Scalmations.” Hughley also posted a video that illustrates the pastor wearing a ruby and diamond-encrusted ring moments before the robbery. Three days later, Bishop Whitehead was delivering a sermon while wearing what appeared to be the same ring that was allegedly taken during the heist.
Read other sports and entertainment news and interviews by Vince Smith.
