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Pop Singer Lady Gaga Sued For Charity Scam

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Lady Gaga is involved in a lawsuit that claims she has been keeping the majority of the wristband funds used in her charity for the victims in Japan who suffered terrible losses from the earthquake and tsunami that happened in March.  The federal action states that Lady Gaga falsely claimed that all the proceeds she received from her “We Pray For Japan” wristbands would go toward her charity to aid the victims and increase the recovery efforts in Japan.

Instead of using all the money she gained from the wristband sales for Japan, she instead pocketed some of the money. NBC News states that the legal network in Detroit claims, in its complaint, that out of every $5 gained from a wristband purchase, Lady Gaga kept a part of it. She also inflated shipping charges to the extent that it was way over the required amount to ship the wristbands, thus giving her the ability to gain even more profit. The donation has a $3.99 shipping charge for an item that was less than an ounce, when it should cost only about 50 cents.

According to E! Online News, the 1-800-LAW-FIRM legal representative, Ari Kresh, stated that the first issue that came to their attention was the sales tax charging donors for their “charitable contribution” and that, contrary to what the charity site stated, not all of the proceeds were going to charity. The lawsuit has claimed that the pop singer’s false advertising and profiteering violated many federal laws as well as consumer protection laws.

Lady Gaga has not been available to answer to the lawsuit claims due to her tight tour schedule. Part of her tour included MTV’s Video Music Aid Japan benefit concert that was held in Tokyo on Saturday. She has donated $3 million toward the victims in Japan and has performed for many charitable actions. Popeater stated that Lady Gaga has always been in front of the action for activism and charity outreach, whether it be disaster relief or gay rights. However, this lawsuit could tarnish her activist image, especially if the claims are proven true. It will be interesting to see how this disaster turns out.

Photos courtesy of Luigi Orru and Lilee_n via Flickr

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