Hollywood actor Brad Pitt sued for fraud

LOS ANGELES: It seems like the legal woes are not ready to disappear from the actor’s life just yet.

Apart from his ongoing Divorce case with Hollywood Actress Angelina Jolie, Pitt has landed himself into another legal woe as his charity organization is now being sued.

According to reports, the actor established a charitable foundation in New Orleans that built homes after Hurricane Katrina greatly affected the city.

Allegedly the homes Pitt’s foundation built were not sustainable and many couldn’t bear another natural disaster.

The foundation is also being accused over their failure to fix multiple problems that were registered by the residents for almost a decade.

100 people living in Pitt’s foundation built homes have now filed a lawsuit citing unfair trade practices, breach of contract and fraud.

According to the lawsuit, the mortgage-paying owners of 109 homes built by Make It Right say they are facing multiple problems, including mold, poor design, substandard construction and materials, electrical and HVAC failures, and siding issues.

The foundation which was formed in 2007 after raising $42 million has failed to fix problems since 2009 despite several complaints.

Pitt responded to the lawsuit in a statement emailed by his spokesman:

“An extensive review of the homes began just after the tenth anniversary of Katrina (in 2015). Thanks to the dedication of the MIR team, we have been coordinating repairs of homes experiencing problems since early 2018 and have total faith in the team on the ground to see this through.

“I made a promise to the folks of the Lower Ninth to help them rebuild – it is a promise I intend to keep.”

Many are cynical as they believe Pitt is too late to respond to problems cited by homeowners in 2009.

“The problems our inspectors are noting in the early stages of our investigation reveal rotting support beams, homes that are retaining significant moisture, which has resulted or will result in mold growth, which is dangerous to health,” said Austin, the lawyer representing home owners.

“Until (the foundation) provides detailed renovation plans on each home, MIR is not adequately addressing the situation.”

Austin says the “tragedy” is that Pitt’s effort to help the flooded Lower Ninth after Katrina showed his “heart was in the right place” but his foundation has been “almost an epic failure.”

“The people of New Orleans love Brad Pitt so they gave him the benefit of the doubt. They were told to be patient and were pressured by the foundation into signing non disclosure and binding arbitration agreements to keep them quiet and help protect Pitt’s public image. Now they’re stuck in deteriorating homes that they can’t sell and can’t afford to walk away from, and they’re no longer willing to wait patiently. “

“Any time you’re dealing with a celebrity with more money than God knows who, it makes it somewhat difficult for these residents,” Austin said.