Mary J. Blige has made it back into the headlines—and this time it isn’t about her singing.
Blige and her charity,The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation For The Advancement Of Women Now, Inc. (FFAWN), are being sued for $250,000 after not repaying a loan they received from TD Bank in June 2011. According to the lawsuit, the foundation was supposed to pay back the money in December but they have only repaid $368.33 of the money. The bank says it sent two notices in February but still hasn’t received any more money.
According to the New York Post, this isn’t the first time the charity has had financial issues. Apparently, it did not file a 2010 tax return and was sued by performers because the checks they received for performing at a fundraising gala bounced. Blige also sold 60,000 bottles of perfume on Home Shopping Network and a dollar for each sale was supposed to go to the charity. The whereabouts of that money is unknown.
The location of the charity’s offices is also a mystery. Documents from the suit were delivered to an office on West 45th Street in New York, which is also the office of Blige’s partner Steve Stoute’s marketing firm and the receptionist at the front desk said the charity moved and she didn’t know their new location. “The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation For The Advancement Of Women Now, Inc. (FFAWN) is presently transitioning its management and headquarters,” said a rep for Blige. “We remain committed to our mandate of helping women gain the confidence and skills necessary to reach their full individual potential.”
