Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist

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1. 

   As someone who produced dozens of nativity plays as a teacher and a Sunday School leader, that title ‘A Gay…

2. 

   The defence of a Christian view never seems to be settled by debate: exchange of facts, reference to historical events.…

3. 

   But …… Rwanda is a safe place: Parliament says so.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/8/contentsSafety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 S 2 Safety…

4. 

   Religion can survive only on the most unquestionable assumptions. The statements made on Sundays on the BBC as if they…

5. 

   Yes, if I’ve got anything remotely like a phobia, as an ex-fundy, its bibles, churches, tracts etc. I like to…

Known as “The Bishop of Bling” Lamor Whitehead, above, was taken out of circulation yesterday (Monday) after he was jailed for defrauding a parisher and an attempt to extort money from a businessman.

Regularly seen wearing Louis Vuitton suits, extravagant jewelry and wacky glasses, Whitehead was a pastor at the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Brooklyn.

He made headlines in 2022 after he said he and his wife were robbed of $1 million worth of jewelry at their church.

According to CNN, prosecutors said Whitehead defrauded one of his parishioners by convincing her to invest approximately $90,000 of her retirement savings with him so he could help her buy a home.

But he ended up spending the money on luxury goods and personal expenses.

Whitehead was found guilty in March of two counts of wire fraud, as well as one count each of attempted wire fraud, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal law enforcement agents. The convictions are from three separate schemes.

In addition to his prison sentence, the 45-year-old New Jersey pastor “was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $85,000 in restitution and forfeit $95,000,” according to a news release from the US attorney’s office and court documents.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in the news release:

Lamor Whitehead is a con man who stole millions of dollars in a string of financial frauds and even stole from one of his own parishioners. He lied to federal agents, and again to the Court at his trial. Today’s sentence puts an end to Whitehead’s various schemes and reflects this Office’s commitment to bring accountability to those who abuse their positions of trust.

Whitehead also extorted $5,000 from a businessman and then attempted to convince him to loan him $500,000.

Whitehead used his ties to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, above, to try to make the deal, the US attorney’s office said in a March news release.

Adams is quoted here as saying:

Bishop Whitehead is in my prayers and I wish the best for him.

Whitehead also submitted a fraudulent application for a $250,000 business loan that included doctored bank statements, which falsely claimed he had millions of dollars in the bank and hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly revenue.

Whitehead had “submitted similar fraudulent applications to various other financial institutions, stealing millions of dollars in the process,” the release said.

And when speaking to FBI agents who were executing a search warrant outside his New Jersey mansion, Whitehead made false statements by telling the agents he only had one phone, when he actually had two, according to the indictment.

Hate tip: BarrieJohn & Stephen Harvie

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