CJF American President shows up for court, doesn't answer when employees will get paid

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- New details in an I-Team investigation into a Durham foundation accused of not paying its employees. The President of CJF America showed up for the first time in court since facing charges of worthless checks. Kristin Picot had two previous hearings, neither of which she attended. For one of those, her attorney said she was in the hospital. On Thursday in court, Picot said nothing.

Her previous attorney asked to withdraw, due to Picot hiring a new attorney on Thursday morning. In court, Picot's new attorney, Kendra Simmons, said in court she was just hired and asked for a continuance so she could get caught up on the case.

The judge granted the request for the case to be continued. The worthless check charges stem from Crystal Graves and Briana Thompson. Both former CJF employees who worked for weeks for the Durham foundation have these paychecks that they say the banks wouldn't cash.

Since July, Troubleshooter Diane Wilson has investigated CJF America. The foundation ran summer camps in Durham and Raleigh, and more than a dozen workers said they didn't get paid. Besides worthless check charges, Briana Thompson and her sisters, who worked as camp counselors, also filed this civil lawsuit against CJF and its executives this week for unpaid wages.

Briana Thompson added, "We worked so hard. I love being the camp counselor. I love the kids, so, we did our job. We felt like we did everything that was expected of us. We only deserve what's owed to us."

After court, Wilson asked Picot when employees would get paid, and she did not answer. Previously, she told Wilson, employees would get their money. Picot's attorney only said, "No comment at this time, thank you." Picot's attorney also added, "She is always innocent until proven guilty." Picot's next court date for the worthless check charges is in November.

Investigators say the founder of CJF, Courtney Jordan, and its CFO are also facing criminal charges of felony conspiracy and obtaining property under false pretenses. Those warrants remain unserved.

We have tried to get a response from CJF for more than a month, but no one has responded.

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