R&B singer Mary J. Blige’s charity organization is facing a possible investigation after allegedly failing to file its 2010 tax return.
Blige founded The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN) with her former record label executive in 2007 but the group has now come into question following several discrepancies regarding the firm’s finances.
According to the New York Post, FFAWN execs allegedly neglected to surrender its tax returns for the year 2010 or its annual state charity registration, and they’ve since been hit with two lawsuits.
Earlier this month, a band of musicians launched a legal battle against the charity after performing at FFAWN’s star-studded benefit concert in May 2011, only to receive checks that bounced.
Harvey Mars, a lawyer representing the artists says, “We got a whole series of checks – rubber.”
FFAWN chiefs were also hit with a suit from TD Bank bosses, who claim they defaulted on a $250,000 loan, obtained last June.
The suit was filed this month at the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Thousands of dollars in donations are also reportedly missing — since 2009, Blige contributed $25,000, rapper Jay-Z matched that, Gucci and Walmart execs offered up a combined total of $83,500, and her associate Stoute handed over $35,000 — but the group’s 2010 annual report has no funds listed under its financing for that year, reports WENN.
