President of Durham foundation accused of not paying employees a no show at court hearing
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- There are new developments in an I-Team investigation of a Durham foundation accused of not paying its employees.
The I-Team has been investigating CJF for months, first for not paying the Durham restaurant, The Chicken Hut, for meals they provided to CJF's summer camp. They eventually paid after our stories.
We also heard from more than a dozen employees who said they haven't been paid for their work. Some of those employees have filed a civil lawsuit against CJF and its executives for not being paid.
On Tuesday, the president of CJF America, Kristen Picot, was due in court for criminal charges filed against her, but she was a no-show.
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Picot was scheduled to appear in a Durham courtroom on charges against her of simple worthless checks. The misdemeanor charges were filed by Crystal Graves, a former executive director of the Durham CJF office, who was hired by CJF America in May but claims she never received her wages for the work she did.
We first talked to Graves after she said CJF owed her about $10,000 for her work. Graves said she had to miss a day of work at her new school to attend Tuesday's hearing.
"We're going through great lengths to try and support each other and make sure that this never happened to no one else," Graves said. "There are too many of us that have been affected by this. Those who have received checks and those who have not."
Graves showed the I-Team two checks that she says CJF America gave her, but according to the criminal summons, Picot knew at the time that there were not sufficient funds in the account to cover the checks.
While Graves was in court, when Picot's name was called, Picot was not present.
Graves told Troubleshooter Diane Wilson she was not surprised Picot did not show up at the hearing.
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"I'm not disappointed because I'm not shocked. Accountability is just not there," Graves said.
Graves is not alone in her quest to get paid. Former CJF camp counselors Briana and Jasmine Thompson filed additional worthless check charges against Picot for getting paychecks from CJF America that they say couldn't be cashed.
The Thompson sisters shared with Wilson how much it affected their lives not getting paid by CJF. On Aug. 25, the Thompson sisters shared with Wilson an email from the CFO and managing partner of CJF that says the foundation is preparing to distribute payments that would be sent via certified mail. The email goes on to state that in order to ensure no delays, CJF requested an address where someone will be available to sign for delivery. The Thompson sisters said they responded, but to date, no checks have arrived. Their court date is scheduled for later this month.
In August, when Wilson caught up with Picot at CJF's Raleigh summer camp, she promised that all employees would get paid and agreed to talk to the Troubleshooter about their plan and other issues, but despite repeated requests, that has not happened. Neither Picot nor CJF responded to Wilson about Picot missing her court date.
The North Carolina Department of Labor and Durham Police say they're both investigating CJF non-payment complaints, so far, no action has been taken.
