CJF finally pays nearly $4K owed to The Chicken Hut after ABC11 Troubleshooter gets involved

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- There's a major new development in an I-Team investigation into the Durham Foundation, CJF America.

Since last Tuesday, we've been telling you that the company has failed to pay not only a Durham business, The Chicken Hut, but some of its employees thousands of dollars for work.

Tuesday afternoon, CJF finally paid up.

The owner of The Chicken Hut, Tre Tapp, said that shortly after the restaurant closed, Courtney Jordan, along with the CFO of CJF and another CJF executive, walked into the restaurant and paid the $3,400 that The Chicken Hut had been owed since June.

Tapp said he was surprised to see Jordan and others not only pay what Tapp is owed, but also apologize.

"'We just want to come down here and make things right, make a payment to you guys,' and they said they were deeply sorry for all the confusion and the mishaps," Tapp said.

CJF is a foundation based in Durham that is a branch of the Courtney Jordan Foundation. Jordan, who lives in Durham, is the man behind the group whose stated mission is to build stronger communities.

CJF offers free summer camps in Durham and Raleigh, and it has contracted with The Chicken Hut to provide meals to the Durham camp location. The Chicken Hut did its job in June, but when it came time to pay, CJF failed to do so. After a month of broken promises, the owner reached out to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson, and CJF again promised payment last Wednesday. But on that day, still no money.

Tapp said he was relieved to finally get the $3,400 owed and told the Troubleshooter: "I believe without you all, you all are a tremendous help; it helped shine a light on everything that all the individuals are going through that have been affected by this situation. So, we sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart and for helping us through this ordeal."

Besides The Chicken Hut, Wilson also uncovered that CJF executives and camp counselors in Durham and Raleigh had not received payment for weeks of work at CJF and were also owed thousands of dollars.

Wilson continued to press CJF for answers on when it would pay, and on Monday, the President of CJF, Kristen Picot, stated that everyone would be paid, but did not provide a timeline for when that would happen.

Previously, Picot 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."