Following the devastating earthquake that hit Japan earlier this year, celebrities immediately rallied up to help. Lady Gaga also jumped on board, designing a “Pray for Japan” bracelet, with proceedings going to charity. She’s now being sued for scamming people with it. A new report says that Gaga used the tragedy to make a profit for herself, all the while claiming she was literally going out of her way to help raise money for earthquake relief.
“Lady Gaga is being sued for racketeering and corruption over allegations she scammed money from the sale of wristbands, which should have gone to the victims of Japan’s earthquake,”
Fox informs.
The law firm filing the $5-million lawsuit against Gaga claims she used the tragedy in Japan as a front to make a profit on fraudulent claims.
“I’m suing Lady Gaga simply to hold her accountable for giving the money that she was raising for charity to the cause that she was trying to raise it for,” Ari Kresch, attorney with 1-800-LAW-FIRM of Michigan, says.
“But when you use your celebrity and your power as a musician to take money from people under false pretenses, that’s just wrong,” Alyson Oliver of the same firm says.
The lawsuit that will probably soon arrive in court alleges that Gaga charged extra for the bracelet, with the money going straight into her pocket instead of to a charity organization.
At the same time, she never really stated how much of the money charged on a single “Pray for Japan” bracelet goes to Japan relief and how much into her own bank account.
“Lady Gaga charges $5 for a ‘We Pray for Japan’ wristband, another $3.99 for shipping and handling and $0.60 for tax. The lawsuit alleges that Gaga got greedy by inflating the shipping cost and pocketing the extra and refusing to disclose how much of the $5 actually goes to the Japanese victims,” Fox informs.
The attorney firm contacted Gaga’s camp for a statement on the above claims, in a bid to find out how much money she makes from the bracelets and how much she gives to charity.
They got only a vague answer along the lines that “some of the money is being retained.” They believe Gaga is giving nothing to charity, which is why they filed this lawsuit, in the hope they will find out.
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