Who are the pastors who absolutely just love the cash?! And of course,
love donations from their followers! All in the name of God of course! Let’s get started with:
4 - Lamor Whitehead Lamor Whitehead is a Brooklyn-based pastor, known
for his flashy lifestyle, and he’s someone we’ve covered before, and this is his latest update.
Allegedly, Whitehead defrauded his parishioners out of hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Federal agents arrested Lamor Whitehead, the Leaders of Tomorrow International Church founder,
in December 2022. However, this wasn’t his first interaction with the law.
Whitehead’s criminal history began in 2006 with an arrest over an identity
theft scam that used the names of people living in Brooklyn and Long Island. At
the time, he faced ten counts of identity theft.
He was released early for good behavior from Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2013.
A year later, Whitehead received a cease-and-desist letter from the
Brooklyn District Attorney’s office over his false claims of promoting a
collaborative justice initiative with the DA’s office that year.
Status Life
In 2016, despite owing $251,000 for an outstanding court judgment over an
unpaid personal loan in 2009, Whitehead drove around Brooklyn in a Bentley and Maserati.
Whitehead also allegedly scammed $90,000 out of one of his parishioners.
The woman was reluctant to hand over her life savings but trusted him. At the time,
she struggled to secure a mortgage with her low credit score, and Whitehead offered to help.
As the savings were her only source of income, he promised to pay her $ 100 a month,
but he supposedly only made one payment in January 2021.
She wired Whitehead the money, but rather than spend it on her new home,
he treated himself to expensive clothes among other things. When she asked about her new home,
Whitehead claimed he’d talk to her after his election campaign for Brooklyn borough president.
Later, Whitehead told her he had no obligation to pay her back and would
invest the cash in his own company. She learned he’d used the money to
buy a $4.4 million home and sought a $1 million judgment in the scam.
Extortion
Whitehead allegedly had other victims, too, including a businessman he extorted out of
$5,000 after promising they’d make millions of dollars if he could borrow $50,000.
He touted his relationship with New York City Mayor Eric Adams,
claiming he could get favors from the New York City government. Adams had supported
Whitehead and his ministry since it opened in 2013 and spoke fondly of him at events.
His ministry’s website had a ‘donate’ button,
despite his claims that the organization didn’t solicit funds.
In an indictment against Whitehead, there were claims that he threatened at least one victim,
who only made a payment to the pastor under
the instruction of the authorities investigating Whitehead at the time.
Arrest
At the time of his arrest, he told authorities he only had one phone
but had texted one of his victims to contact him on a different phone. As part of his indictment,
he had to forfeit every belonging obtained through his offenses.
For anything that couldn’t be found or obtained,
federal agents had permission to seize other items that equaled the value of those belongings.
As of December 2022, Whitehead’s case is ongoing. He’s charged with extortion, wire fraud, and
making material false statements. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 65 years in prison.
3 - The Edwards Family The Edwards family ran a
faith-based charity that pledged to teach the Christian faith and be devoted to
service. In the fall of 2020, they allegedly pulled off a multimillion-dollar fraud when
they applied for the Covid relief program created for small businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Parents Evan and Mary Jane Edwards, and their adult children Joy and Josh,
filed paperwork claiming that the ministry, ASLAN International Ministry,
handled a monthly payroll of $2.7 million and had 486 employees.
After receiving $8 million from the government, the family was on the radar of federal
investigators, who found inconsistencies in the claims they made in their application.
One of the most alarming facts was that the accountant who signed off
on the loan suffered from dementia and hadn’t worked for the organization in three years.
Federal investigators visited the ministry’s Orlando office but found the doors were locked,
and neighboring businesses claimed to have never seen anyone inside.
The ministry’s website appeared inactive, with donation links not working and blurbs
that seemed to have been copied from other religious websites.
Pulled Over By the fall of 2020,
federal agents were planning on questioning the
family when police officers pulled them over for speeding in their Mercedes SUV.
All four suspects were in the car, and Evan Edwards explained they were on their
way to a conference in Texas. Federal agents arrived and searched the vehicle,
where it became clear this wasn’t an ordinary road trip.
Edwards sat with a laser printer on his lap,
and in one of the rear passenger seats were two clear bags filled with shredded paperwork.
Authorities found suitcases filled with financial records,
two Faraday bags to block any sort of GPS tracking with tablets and laptops inside,
a paper shredder, and backpacks filled with external hard drives and USB drives.
A Florida federal judge ordered the forfeiture of the $8 million they received from the government,
claiming the money was the proceeds from money laundering and bank fraud. Despite this,
the family wasn’t charged with any crimes.
Investigation
Federal agents gathered information about the family, visiting ASLAN International Office’s
deserted headquarters and chasing down Walter Gnida, the accountant who supposedly signed
ASLAN’s loan application. Gnida’s son spoke on his behalf, confirming his father’s dementia.
The $2.7 million monthly payroll mentioned in the loan application
was far from the actual monthly income, which was closer to $5,500.
Federal authorities had been watching the Edwards family for some time when
they knocked on the Edwards’ front door in September 2020, but nobody answered.
Nine days later, agents returned with a search warrant to find that the house was empty. The
Evans family was pulled that same evening, and authorities took the family into custody.
All four were charged with filing false immigration documents at the
Canadian border when they had originally moved to the U.S.
Their forms claimed they’d be working for Walter Gnida, despite his ailing health.
However, those charges were dismissed when a U.S. customs officer admitted to having misread
the interview reports. Gnida’s son suggested the family could have forged his father’s signature
on the visa applications, but he could have also signed the documents and not remembered.
Months after the traffic stop, Edwards and his son returned to their boarded-up family
home without his wife or daughter, whose whereabouts were unknown.
Aftermath
In December 2022, officers arrested Edwards and his son at their Florida home. The arrest came
five months after an NBC News report brought new attention to their case.
Their charges included multiple counts of fraud, and their first court appearances didn’t go well.
Evan Edwards refused to go due to struggles in his health that forced him to be in a wheelchair,
and he didn’t want to be in a court-holding cell in his chair.
Josh Edwards wouldn’t answer even the most basic questions asked by the judge the hearing
The judge ordered the pair to stay in custody pending completing psychiatric and medical exams.
There’s much of this crazy story we couldn’t get into here, so for
a deeper dive into the insane details, click the link here!
2 - Yvonne Hampton-Barley Florida church pastor Yvonne Hampton-Barley
allegedly used her relationship to exploit an elderly couple to clean out their bank account
and steal their home. Yvonne Hampton-Barley's 10 year friendship with an elderly, childless
couple seemed innocent initially. She was the founder and pastor of True Spirit of
Christ Our Redeemer Christian Ministries, and spent time with members of her church,
including the elderly couple, both of whom were suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia.
However, family members of the couple were suspicious
of Hampton-Barely early on and did not approve of her time with them.
Their concerns were warranted, as Hampton-Barley's time with the couple was more sinister
than anybody realized. Over several months, Hampton-Barley altered their retirement funding,
added her name to the victims' bank accounts, and attempted to cash out their life insurance policy.
Hampton-Barley would pretend to be the couple's caretaker or daughter and even
added her name to the male victim's bank account. She withdrew roughly
$18,000 from their accounts while claiming she had power of attorney.
While posing as the couple's 'friend',
Hampton-Barley transferred ownership of their home to herself and set herself
up as their sole beneficiary so that she would inherit their assets when they died.
When the couple's niece, Nadine, discovered Hampton-Barley's name on
their deed while reviewing their personal affairs, she contacted an attorney.
Fake Church
The attorney found that Hampton-Barely had diverted funds from his clients'
accounts to her own and cashed out the surrender value of the couple's life
insurance policy. While investigating True Spirit of Christ Our Redeemer Christian
Ministries further, the church’s most recent physical address appears to be
a luxury 22-story condo building where one of the church’s officers resides.
No information about the church could be found outside of the listing in Sunbiz,
Florida’s business registry, where it was listed as a non-profit.
The family’s attorney couldn’t even confirm if the couple had actually attended the church,
if that’s where they had met Hampton-Barley, or if the church even existed at all.
Within days of the arrest, not one member of the church had come forward to defend their pastor,
a fact the family’s attorney found unusual, since the pastors often have strong relationships within
their parishioners. Aftermath
The family filed a lawsuit against Hampton-Barely in the spring of 2020 but ended the litigation as
family members didn't want to put the couple through more distress. However,
they were able to restore the deed to the couple.
Hampton-Barley might have dodged the litigation,
but Miami-Dade police arrested and criminally charged her with grand theft,
organized scheme to defraud, and exploitation of the elderly. Hampton-Barley is now awaiting
a judge’s decision which could end up including restitution of the stolen money.
Shepherd Bushiri Malawi-born Shepherd
Bushiri is a Christian preacher many believed to be a prophet with healing powers. Bushiri
amassed a substantial following and ran churches from Ghana to South Africa. His followers flocked
to listen to his sermons, although some needed more from him than his teachings.
Supposedly, Bushiri performed miracles that changed people's lives,
with his followers believing he could heal them and improve their lives.
Bushiri often spoke about the miracles he'd performed, claiming he'd cured people of HIV,
changed the fortunes of those living in poverty, made blind people see,
and once walked on air. So like Criss Angel.
Enlightened Christian Gathering
Bushiri offered a range of products at the large church complex, the Enlightened Christian
Gathering, where he preached. On Sundays, he attracted roughly 40,000 people, all of whom
would listen to the 'prophet's' teachings, and some would do some shopping before they left.
Bushiri sold merchandise at stalls around the complex. Some of his
products included branded t-shirts, towels, caps, calendars, wristbands,
and even ‘miracle oil'. Vendors advertised that Bushiri blessed all their merchandise,
so everything had healing powers. Pfizer must be a little nervous!
Desperation Pays
Bushiri soon amassed impressive wealth, although nobody knew his specific net
worth. His fortune allowed him to buy four private planes and
several hotels. He was also rumored to have been interested in several mines.
Allegations of unsafe practices by the preacher were brought to light when congregants had to
perform questionable acts to demonstrate their faith, where they ate rats, snakes,
and grass, and drank petroleum. It sounds like Bushiri was starting a fraternity.
Despite filling sports stadiums during his services, some people were skeptical of Bushiri.
They believed he was extorting those living in poverty, who were so desperate to improve their
lives they were willing to buy his snake oil with the hopes it would help their situations.
Arrest
While impoverished people sought change by buying his products,
Bushiri became one of the wealthiest religious leaders in Africa.
South African authorities arrested Bushiri and his wife on fraud and money laundering charges,
but the couple skipped bail and fled to Malawi.
According to Bushiri, his life was under threat, and the South African authorities
didn’t offer him protection. He addressed his supporters on social media and told
them his decision to skip bail was to save him and his wife's lives.
After they fled, South Africa quickly issued arrest warrants for skipping bail.
The specific way that Bushiri and his wife left the country was unknown. However,
one theory was that a syndicate specializing in taking stolen cars
from South Africa to Malawi helped sneak them out.
The situation threatened to cause diplomatic tension between Malawi and South Africa,
especially when a rumor circulated that the couple fled South Africa
with Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera on his presidential jet,
although Chakwera's office and South African authorities denied those claims.
Dismissed
A Malawi court deemed Bushiri's arrest illegal because it did not
pass through the Minister of Homeland Security.
In November 2020, Malawian authorities arrested
the pastor and his wife when Interpol issued an arrest warrant for the two.
However, his troubles in South Africa were far from over,
where the government charged him with stealing $6.6 million through money
laundering, fraud, and theft. They also broke the conditions of their bail by leaving the country.
Bushiri spoke to reporters outside the Malawi court, claiming he wasn't celebrating his
victory but a victory of God instead. While talking about justice prevailing,
he forgot that South Africa would likely send an extradition request for him and his wife.
Aftermath
In response to violating his jail conditions, the South African court seized his residence,
although he appeared unphased by the situation, stating he didn't care about his assets.
Fears of Bushiri's release hurting Malawi's relations with
South Africa complicated the extradition process.
As part of the Southern African Development Community, Malawi and South Africa had already
promised the protocol on extradition that they would send back fugitives.
However, as of early 2022, their extradition case is ongoing.
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Let us know in the comments below whether or not you think there’s at
least one prosperity pastor that’s NOT a scammer!