SOUTHFIELD, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attorneys from 1-800-LAW-FIRM have filed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) charges today against Lady Gaga (nee Stefani Germonatta) and affiliated companies alleging they misrepresented charitable donations from the sale of wristbands intended for Japan’s earthquake relief efforts. The class action suit was filed by Firm Partner Alyson Oliver in U.S. Federal Court. The full complaint is now available on the company’s website, www.1800LAWFIRM.com.
Shortly after the March, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, Lady Gaga marketed and distributed “Lady Gaga Japan Earthquake Relief Wristbands” through her website and claimed that “all proceeds go directly to Japan relief efforts.” The suit alleges the Defendants made materially false and misleading representations by added additional “shipping charges” in excess of the amount required to ship the wristbands based on their weight and retained a portion of the proceeds from each transaction instead of donating all proceeds to the Japan Relief Efforts. It also states the Defendants artificially inflated reports of the total donations by including the portion of funds retained by Defendants in their calculations and used the inflated financials to 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,” said Oliver. “Our intention with this lawsuit is to uncover any improprieties committed by Lady Gaga and appropriate the full donations assumed to the victims in Japan.”
1-800-LAW-FIRM is seeking compensations, including consequential and special damages in amounts proved, as well as for statutory damages, including a return of all amounts paid for the products sold by Defendants to the Plaintiffs and the Class Members.
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