Sonja Norwood apparently gave Keeping up with the Kardashians star Kim Kardashian and her accused kin a chance to avoid legal action.
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The mother and manager of former America's Got Talent judge Brandy Norwood filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging Kardashian and three of her siblings charged $120,636 worth of purchases to her credit card without her permission. Kim and her sister Khloe had previously worked for Brandy, while Kim also dated Sonja's son William "Ray J" Norwood Jr..
"I did not want to commence litigation against the Kardashian family without conducting an exhaustive investigation into the charges, and discussing all options, including criminal prosecution, with my family," Sonja told OK! Weekly in a statement released Tuesday.
"After Ray-J and Brandy urged me not to file criminal charges because of their prior friendship, I decided to afford the Kardashians an opportunity to resolve this matter without a lawsuit."
Sonja told OK! that once "the fraudulent charges" were brought to the Kardashian's attention, "they apologized profusely."
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"[They] advised us, through their attorneys, that they would pay the debt in full," Sonja told OK!. "However, they have since reneged on that promise."
According to the lawsuit, Kim used Sonja's American Express credit card to make the unauthorized purchases when she was employed as Brandy's stylist in 2006 and 2007.
The lawsuit also accuses Kim of sharing Norwood's credit card information with siblings Kourtney, Robert Jr. and Khloe -- who was working as Brandy's personal assistant at the time. The siblings then allegedly proceeded to charge their own unauthorized purchases to the card, according to the lawsuit.
Some of the unauthorized charges took place at the Kardashian family's Dash and Smooch clothing stores, according to Sonja, who is seeking the return of the $120,636 plus 10% interest.
"The investigation has revealed that the Kardashians used their two stores and other stores that I have never visited to take advantage of me," Sonja told OK!.
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Kardashian publicist Cindy Guagenti issued a statement characterizing the charges against his clients as "meritless" and added, "The Kardashian family looks forward to proving the absurdity of these claims in a court of law."
Sonja also apparently welcomes the opportunity to have the matter play out in court.
"I very much look forward to having the Kardashians account for their misconduct in a court of law," she told OK!. "I also welcome the examination of any so called evidence to determine whether it was fraudulently obtained or whether it constitutes a forgery."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio