Naomi Campbell busted!
Nearly two decades ago, the fashion icon established a charity called Fashion For Relief, which was supposed to help provide aid for those “living in adversity.” It sounded like it had a LOT of potential to do a lot of good, though it was also a bit vague in its goals. In a statement on the website at the time, Naomi wrote:
“Nelson Mandela was my inspiration. Fashion For Relief is dedicated to improving the lives of those living in adversity, by uniting the fashion industry as a force for good.”
However, in 2021, things started to go downhill. The organization was reported to regulators, and the Charity Commission for England and Wales opened an official inquiry into the case last November. By the next month, the commission announced it had decided to “dissolve” Fashion For Relief, and three months later, it was shut down for good. OMG, she went full Trump! How embarrassing!
So what happened?? Well, some pretty disturbing allegations…
In a bombshell report published on Thursday, The Guardian revealed the charity’s funds had been SEVERELY misused over the course of the last decade. According to the outlet, tens of thousands of dollars were allegedly used to bankroll extravagant hotel stays, spa treatments, security personnel, and cigarettes for its trustee… Naomi!
OMFG!
A woman named Bianka Hellmich, the charity’s co-trustee, was also named in the report because she’s ALSO been enjoying the cash flow. BBC reported that unauthorized payments totaling nearly $400,000 have been made to Bianka for consultancy services over the last several years. And get this, the inquiry specifically looked into spending reports between April 2016 and July 2022, and it was found that just 8.5 percent of funds raised were spent on actual charity.
That’s INSANE. The entire thing was more about self-dealing, from the sound of it! It really was the same story as the Trumps…
A third woman named Veronica Chou, another co-trustee, was also reportedly involved in the misuse of funds. Tim Hopkins, who was on the team of investigators, explained:
“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities. Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them.”
Naomi has now been BANNED from serving as charity trustee for five years, while Bianka and Veronica were banned for nine and four years respectively. Luckily, nearly $400,000 was recovered from the charity’s funds and donated to Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund for London.
This is crazy, y’all! What are YOUR reactions?? Let us know in the comments down below!
[Images via NBC/YouTube/MEGA/WENN]
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