It hasn’t even been that long since Mary J. Blige’s Burger King fried chicken commercial sparked controversy. The artist is now back in the spotlight with much more damaging news. TMZ reports Mary J. Blige’s charity is under investigation for taking more than it is actually giving.
TMZ has scooped a pretty interesting report. Apparently, a bank has initiated a lawsuit against Mary J. Blige and her charity, the Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN). TD Bank is asking Mary J. Blige and FFAWN to pay back a $250,000 loan and has filed all the lawsuit documents with the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, as of this month.
And that’s not everything. Earlier this month, Mary J. Blige’ charity was hit with another lawsuit. This time it was a group of musicians that asked for the charity to be put under investigation after they’ve been paid with checks that bounced. There are 30 musicians claiming they didn’t receive their payment and are asking for $167,252.
Furthermore, according to allegations, court filings and reports, FFAWN is missing thousands of dollars received from donations. The charity’s 2010 annual report omits several important donations made by Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Gucci, Walmart and Steve Stoute.
New York Post writes that a source with FFAWN “ack nowledged there were problems and said the group had retained a charity consultant, a forensic accountant and a law firm specializing in nonprofits ‘to look into certain issues’.”
The Post also writes that at the moment the headquarters of the charity seem to have vanished in thin air. The receptionist at the charity’s alleged office on West 45th Street said that is Steve Stoute’s marketing firm headquarters and not of FFAWN. According to her, the charity has another address, but she didn’t know what it was.
Meanwhile, Mary J. Blige is being dragged into quite a damaging issue. A spokesperson for the singer told TMZ: “The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation For The Advancement Of Women Now, Inc. (FFAWN) is presently transitioning its management and headquarters”. The statement also read: “We remain committed to our mandate of helping women gain the confidence and skills necessary to reach their full individual potential”.
