Feds: Rich rev. is a $inner
Accused of falsifying records to buy manse
Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead fabricated bank records in an attempt to finance his million-dollar New Jersey mansion, federal prosecutors charged in an indictment Wednesday.
To get a mortgage approved for the sprawling Paramus estate, Whitehead, 44, altered bank records beginning in 2018 to make it appear that a limited liability corporation he controlled had an average balance of more than $2 million — when it actually had less than $10, the feds allege.
The embattled church leader, who made headlines in 2022 when he was robbed at gunpoint of more than $1 million in jewels in front of his congregation, also allegedly created a fake bank account as part of the scheme.
The pastor “fabricated bank records for AMS LLC, from at least in or about October 2018 up to and including . . . February 2019, in an effort to obtain a mortgage in excess of $1.3 million to fund [his] purchase of a home,” Manhattan federal prosecutors wrote.
Whitehead, who was arrested by federal agents and hit with four charges in December 2022, was slapped with an additional count of wire fraud.
Charged before
The feds also allege he applied for a fraudulent $250,000 business loan using the LLC Anointing Management Services by similarly misrepresenting the finances of the company.
Whitehead was not granted the loan, according to the indictment. It’s unclear if the $1.3 million mortgage was approved.
Whitehead leads a small congregation in Canarsie called Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries, where he preaches a “prosperity gospel” and asks his followers to “sow” — or donate money — to the church.
The pastor, who has ties to Mayor Adams dating back to 2013, drives luxury cars and wears designer suits and pricey jewelry during his church services, as well as at his recent appearances in federal court.
After his arrest in December, The Post viewed a white RollsRoyce SUV and a white Mercedes G Wagon parked in the driveway of his six-bedroom, seven-bathroom Paramus estate.
Whitehead was previously charged with scamming a parishioner out of $90,000 and blowing it on luxury goods.
He also faces an extortion charge for allegedly promising to use his influence to get “favorable actions” from the city in real estate deals.
Whitehead faces dozens of years in prison if he’s convicted on all counts.
“We are going to be fighting those allegations,” his attorney, Dawn Florio, said Wednesday. “Lamor Whitehead will be pleading not guilty . . . on the . . . indictment and denies those charges.”