Guess what kids – it's time for some more Real Housewives of Atlanta financial drama. And even more exciting, a defunct non-profit is once-again at the center of some drama. Ooooh goody.
Cynthia Bailey's money troubles continue on! This time it seems her company The Bailey Agency is subject to a shady practices allegation. Is Apollo Cynthia's financial advisor?!
The model has now been accused of defrauding customers through her Bailey Agency by accepting money for services not provided. Cynthia, of course, denies this allegation and tries to shed some light on what she says is a misunderstanding.
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Dorothy Lewis, a RHOA fan, decided to enter her precocious 7-year-old granddaughter Paris in one the agency's photo contests for babies and kids. To register an applicant you have to pay a non-refundable $20 fee (FIRST RED FLAG!). "The only thing I had to do was submit her photo and then I had to submit an entry fee on the website," Ms. Lewis explained to CBSAtlanta. She entered Paris in January 2014 into the "big kid" category.
Per the Bailey Agency's terms, a winner will be chosen monthly from each category and the winners will be featured on the company website and awarded a $150.00 prize. Ms. Lewis says she had realistic expectations, "To me it's like playing the lottery. Your chances are slim but what if? That would be exciting if you win."
Unfortunately no one is winning!
According to the Bailey Agency website a winner hasn't been updated since October, 2013, however the site continues to collect money from entrants! "It's just not right to be advertising that you're going to do one thing and take people's money from around the country and you're not following through on what you're saying," Ms. Lewis complains. Agreed!
So where exactly are all those $20 fees going? Well, according to the website "a portion of the proceeds … will be donated to the Atlanta Diaper Relief." Unfortunately CBS discovered that Atlanta Diaper Relief, is a nonprofit that "folded six months ago." Is the Atlanta Diaper Relief also known as Peter Thomas' stripper fund?
CBS reached out to Cynthia for some clarification on where the money was going and she reveals they are now using a different non-profit. "We didn't even realize it folded until we reached out to her to let her know we were going to be changing it over," Cynthia insists. The case of where the money already submitted went was not addressed. Nor the case of why the website has not been updated to reflect the changes.
Cynthia says they now donate a portion of their proceeds to Tameka Foster Raymond's Kile's World a non-profit started in honor of her late son. As for the allegation that Cynthia is collecting money for a scammy contest, she claims in the past few months they've had a total of 79 entries and collected a total of $1,580 while the winners were not being updated and as a result of low participation the contest has been losing money.
When asked if she wanted to address the matter that her company took money from hopefuls and then did not follow through on their claims, Cynthia stated that she believes people are looking at things the wrong way. "I think that's a very negative approach to the whole situation, that's not like their $20 wasn't being used for what it was intended for. It's just a matter of us being in transition on our side and we were just behind on the website. But now it's updated."
Since the story aired the Bailey Agency has updated the contest winners and Cynthia has promised to refund the $20 for anyone who is unhappy with their experience and be more diligent about monitoring the contest. They have also changed their practices. Cynthia also issued the following statement addressing the matter.
"The program is not revenue driven. The Bailey Babies Contest was created in the spirit of giving moms with young babies a platform to give their children exposure. This was a fun & inexpensive way to involve young babies in the school since they are obviously too young to participate in any of the other school programs that are offered."
"The program was also developed for the purpose of extending our brand out to people outside of the Atlanta area that support and want to be a part of The Bailey Agency. I apologize for any negligence on my part as far as my staff not keeping the website properly updated. I hope after receiving all the correct and updated information from me personally, you can appreciate the sincerity of my intentions. I appreciate you for bringing this important matter to my attention. I can assure The Bailey Babies mommies that this will not be an issue going forward. Thank you for providing the opportunity to address this matter."
A video of Cynthia's interview with CBS news is below!
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