Henri Matisse (1869-1954). Femme nue au bracelet. Linogravure sur papier. 1938
John Grisham: By the Book
The author, most
recently, of "The Racketeer" wishes President Obama would read "Fifty
Shades of Grey": "Maybe it would loosen him up a bit."
Lady Gaga accused of pocketing Japan earthquake relief bracelet proceeds
Tuesday, June 28th 2011, 4:00 AM
Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty
Lady Gaga has been an advocate for Japan relief efforts since the earthquake hit in March. The federal class action lawsuit alleges Gaga (real name Stefani Germonatta) jacked up the shipping costs on the "We Pray for Japan" wristbands she designed and sold on her website after the March earthquake and tsunami, keeping a portion of the money from each sale despite her promise that all proceeds would go to directly to relief efforts.
According to a press release from 1-800-LAW-FIRM, the office leading the charges, Gaga and her team also "inflated reports of the total donations" by including the amount withheld in the tally of donated money, allowing them to advertise a successful campaign and "solicit additional 'donations.'"
"While we commend Lady Gaga for her philanthropic efforts, we want to ensure that claims that 'all proceeds will be donated to Japan's earthquake relief efforts' are in fact true," lead attorney Alyson Oliver was quoted in the release.
Further, as a video posted on the firm's website claims, tax was collected on the wristbands, which sold for $5 a piece. Tax wouldn't be collected on a purely charitable donation the site notes, raising suspicions of misconduct.
Gaga's camp has reportedly held off from replying to the official charges of racketeering and corruption, and refuse to answer further questions.
"When we tried to communicate with the defendants in this lawsuit, all we got was, 'well, some of the money is being retained, but we don't really know how much," Oliver told NBC Chicago.
Lady Gaga spent last week making appearances in Japan, performing at Saturday's MTV Video Music Aid Japan benefit concert in Tokyo and even received a certificate from Japan's Tourism Agency commissioner for her support of the country.
"I can't say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan right now, Japan in general, is very safe," she told The Associated Press. "It's fine to come here. It's beautiful."sed_of_pocketi.html#ixzz1QZVAAdlX
wristband,
Ninety Seconds With the New Fitbit Force
jacj up
Raise or increase, as in The cartel is jacking up oil prices again. This term alludes to the literal meaning of jack up, that is, "hoist with a jack." [Colloquial; c. 1900]
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