Employees of CJF America and camp counselors of the foundation's summer camp are claiming they have not been paid for their work.
ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson first told you about payment with CJF America not paying The Chicken Hut restaurant in Durham $3,400 after providing meals for CJF America's summer camp. The Chicken Hut was promised payment for weeks, but reached out to Wilson when it didn't happen. CJF America once again promised payment by Wednesday, July 31st, but CJF America still has not paid The Chicken Hut.
Now, employees of CJF America tell Wison they're also awaiting payment. Dr. Cherrise Collins and Crystal Graves were both offered high-paying positions at CJF America and started on their jobs in May. At first, everything was great. Dr. Collins and Graves, both passionate about helping underserved communities, thought this was a perfect fit. "The organization was to serve under underserved communities, to develop smart hubs, community centers, along with the free summer camps during the summer," Dr. Collins said, who was hired as Assistant Vice President and Regional Director for the North Carolina region.
Graves is a community activist in Durham and was hired as the Executive Director of the Durham Office.
"I got a phone call from Courtney Jordan himself," Graves says. When she came on board as an employee of CJF America, she took her role seriously. If I can work for this company in my community, get what they need, then it's a win for me because nobody else is going to do this for us, and we need help, especially within Durham Housing Authority residents. We need help."
A key part of Graves's role included recruiting families to enroll their children in the CJF America summer camp. "We only had fifty applications when I started. When we were finished, we had approximately three hundred applications because I want my community to benefit from this," Graves said.
Problems Revealed
"He promised all these field trips. He promised all this academic help for kids with autism." Graves says she was excited for the camp to start, but when it did, she found problems. "None of the activities, all the staff put together beautiful programming for the kids. I mean, we had it all laid out. We were so excited. We were on board, and then that's when we realized that something was wrong." She says CJF America or Jordan provided the funding for all the promised activities for the kids, or even basics like tables and chairs for the camp. Graves adds that she feels she let down her Durham community.
"It was a lot of pressure on me because I'm utilizing resources that I know. I started and set up the whole camp, thinking that he was going to do his part, which his part was to supply the funding; that was all he had to do."
Besides problems with the CJF summer camp, Graves and Dr. Collins say there were problems with CJF America and their paychecks. While they did get their paychecks, when they went to cash them at the bank, "I was told that there was no money in the account," Dr. Collins said. Dr. Collins says she's owed $27,000 to date. Graves said she's owed $10,000 for her work.
"We all have bills. Our credit has dropped." They say they have tried, without success, to get answers from Courtney Jordan and CJF America. "We don't get any return emails," Dr. Collins said, "No one is answering the phones or text messages, it's like they have totally disappeared and now they're just ignoring us." Despite not getting paid, they continued working for CJF America. Dr. Collins adds, "We continued working because we were under, you know, under the understanding that this was a new project in this area. I have worked with startups before, so I know that sometimes there are kinks that need to be worked out when doing something new. Never have I not been paid to do that during that time. But I was being patient because, of course, I was not thinking that I was never going to get paid because there had been so much work that had been put into it already."
Besides Dr. Collins and Graves, camp counselors of CJF America summer camp in Durham reached out to Wilson about their issues with how the camp was run and pay issues. "I just want to get paid," Briana Thompson said, one of the counselors at CJF America's summer camp in Durham. Briana and her sisters, Jasmine and Kylia, were hired as counselors for the summer and tried to make the best out of a less-than-ideal situation. "They were very disorganized, didn't have anything for the kids to do, like activity-wise," Briana said. "My kids, they were watching TV and coloring. I was trying to make them paint," Jasmine added, "I was trying to teach them how to tie their shoes. I was trying to teach them how to spell their names."
They said Courtney Jordan was at the camp periodically and promised that the free summer camp would provide children with field trips and more; however, according to the Thompson sisters, this was not the case. "He made a whole bunch of promises that just wasn't fulfilled at all," they said. When the Thomspon sisters went to cash their checks, they encountered the same issues as Graves and Dr. Collins. "They said that they couldn't cash our checks because they hadn't been verified," Briana said. The Thompson sisters say that is one of the main reasons they are speaking out, as they still have not received any pay for the month they worked at CJF America and are worried about others who may start working for CJF America. "They're still hiring people and they're not going to get paid," Briana said.
ABC11 reached out to both CJF America and Courtney Jordan, the founder of CJF America. Kristne Picot, President of CJF America, said "CJF America is currently addressing all outstanding compensation matters through legal counsel. Those who may be impacted will receive direct communication from our legal representatives. We understand this is a sensitive and personal matter, and we are committed to resolving it with diligence, professionalism, and care." In regard to camp operations, she added, "We respectfully refute the claim that children were left without meals or meaningful programming. Every camper has received daily meals throughout the summer, and our staff has remained deeply engaged in delivering a safe, structured, and enriching environment. While some staff have gone above and beyond by supplementing classroom supplies, this has always been part of our community-first culture not the result of neglect or absence of programming. Campers have participated in writing workshops, media labs, STEM exercises, and more." When it comes to Jordan, Picot said, "As founder and executive chairman, Mr. Jordan remains engaged and informed. However, he is not involved in day-to-day operational decisions or payment processes. I will remain your primary point of contact and am available should you wish to continue the conversation directly."
Troubleshooter also heard from camp counselors at the Raleigh location and employees at the Roxboro office, who also claim they are owed money from CJF America. Several past employees say they received paperwork from CJF America, offering a payroll check replacement and endorsement agreement. It's a commitment to pay wages, if they turn in the checks they couldn't cash.
Several of the past employees of CJF America who could not cash their paychecks said they have filed complaints with the NC Department OF Labor and police.
A spokesperson for the NC DOL states, "We can confirm that the Department opened an investigation in response to multiple complaints claiming nonpayment. No further information will be released until the investigation is completed."