Mary J. Blige Charity Faces Lawsuits and Fiscal Questions
May 29, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
Soul music star Mary J. Blige’s charity has been sued for allegedly defaulting on a $250,000 bank loan and failing to pay musicians who worked at a benefit concert last year, writes the New York Post.
The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, which the singer co-founded with a music-industry executive to empower women, has not filed 2010 tax returns and no longer has an office or phone number, according to the daily.
A group of musicians hired by the foundation for a May 2011 event featuring Ms. Blige, Christina Aguilera, and other celebrities filed suit in a Manhattan court this month, seeking $167,252 in wages and penalties. An attorney for the musicians said their checks from the charity bounced.
A month after the concert the foundation borrowed $250,000 from TD Bank, which contends in another suit filed this month that the organization has not responded to repayment notices.
A source close to the foundation told the Post it had retained a charity consultant and legal and accounting specialists “to look into certain issues” but would not elaborate.
