Flashy Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead, who was robbed of greater than $1 million in jewellery in a caught-on-video heist on the pulpit, has filed twin $20 million lawsuits towards two doubting Thomases.
The separate defendants are a YouTuber named Jives with greater than 80,000 subscribers and one other on-line persona, Larry Reid.
Each males publicly claimed Whitehead was a scammer, amongst different issues, main the plaintiff to lose “enterprise offers, church members, and revenue,’’ the fits say.
Jives — whose full title is Demario Q. Jives — claimed on his YouTube channel final month that Whitehead “is sporting the identical jewellery that [he] bought robbed in,” in line with courtroom papers filed in Kings County courtroom on Friday.
Jives additionally allegedly accused Whitehead of “drug dealing” and collaborating with “the Bloods and Crypts.”
The YouTuber’s feedback had been “all false,” defamatory and slanderous, says the go well with, which is searching for “a minimum of $20,000,000 or such different quantity to be confirmed at trial.”
In the meantime, Reid “wrote on-line that Bishop Whitehead ‘scammed individuals out of cash,’ ” says the opposite go well with, additionally filed in Kings County.
Reid additionally allegedly mentioned on-line that Whitehead “might be locked up in about three months,” after the Gucci-loving Brooklyn bishop was robbed at gunpoint throughout the livestreamed service in July.
Whitehead says in his go well with towards Reid that the statements are false and “uncovered Plaintiff to public contempt, ridicule, aversion, and/or shame.”
The bishop is searching for the identical $20,000,000 in damages “or different such quantity” in his go well with towards Reid.
Whitehead, who has an alleged historical past of grifting and served time in jail for identification theft and grand larceny, misplaced greater than an estimated $1 million in jewellery within the July 24 crime.
The gold-and-gem-dripping clergyman — who instruments round in luxurious automobiles corresponding to a Rolls Royce — has battled again towards critics who declare his high-flying way of life made him a goal for crooks.
The robbers’ haul included a $75,000 Rolex watch, $75,000 Cavalier watch and a number of other crosses value tens of hundreds of dollars a pop. The thieves have but to be caught.
Jives fired again at Whitehead’s lawsuit Monday.
“I’m a commentator,” Jives mentioned to The Put up. “I give commentary on faith, politics, public figures, every little thing. … We make quite a lot of jokes, particularly about this explicit state of affairs, as a result of this man actually is a joke. So for him to attempt to even file one thing is egregious.
“He’s mad as a result of individuals he’s getting backlash, and I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re doing all this speaking a few theft. Who else on this planet is out right here having interviews about being robbed?’ ”
Reid known as Whitehead’s go well with “absurd and unfounded.
“The important thing factor a few defamation lawsuit is you’ve bought to point out a loss, and also you’ve additionally bought to point out malicious intent. I simply said what each different outlet said, so he must be suing them as effectively,” he mentioned. “There’s no good repute to defame. He has no case.”
Whitehead’s lawyer, Brian Ponder, instructed The Put up, “The defamatory statements which might be being made are affecting the bishop’s enterprise and church and professional duties, so he’s going to very aggressively maintain these individuals accountable which might be behind it.
“That is the start of that technique of coping with these actors maliciously stating falsehoods in regards to the bishop,” the lawyer mentioned, including that there can be “many extra” related lawsuits coming.
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