Bounced checks, thousands owed: Employees say they were never paid by Durham-based nonprofit

For more than two weeks, WRAL Investigates has been hearing from people who say they were hired by a Durham-based nonprofit, performed weeks of work, and still have not been paid.

Now, the state Department of Labor and the Durham Police Department confirm they are investigating. 

Crystal Graves said she was hired in mid-May to be an "executive director" for CJF America, which is listed on its website as a branch of the Courtney Jordan Foundation. Graves was supposed to help open a community center and assist with a summer camp for children.

Graves says she met Courtney Jordan because he hosted an event in the public housing community in which she lives. WRAL Investigates asked the Durham Housing Authority several questions about its former or current relationship with Jordan and his companies, which a spokesperson did not directly answer, instead saying: "We have no contractual relationships or arrangements with this individual or foundation."

Graves says after the DHA event, she stayed in touch with members of Jordan's organization and was thrilled to be offered a job boasting an $85,000 annual salary. 

Graves said she started to see red flags after she was hired.

"It [began] when I realized that there was no budget for [anything]," she said. "There was no budget for the summer camp ... It just wasn't adding up."

When it came time to receive her first paycheck, she says it was late. When it did arrive, she went to cash the check and said it bounced. 

She told WRAL Investigates she worked for CJF America from mid-May through the end of June, and that the summer camp did happen at a local church, but that she and others still have not received a dime. She says she is owed $10,142.

"He has taken my income away from me and my kids," she said. "I’m a single mother. And I thrive on being able to take care of my kids."

WRAL Investigates attempted to reach Courtney Jordan and companies related to him by phone and email, and has not received any response. WRAL Investigative Reporter Sarah Krueger went by the Shannon Road office address listed on CJF America's most recent Secretary of State filing. The address was for a co-working space, where a receptionist said that the group no longer leases space.

Graves says she and the other victims, who she estimates at more than 30, are in constant communication. She says CJF America has sites all over the area, including in Rocky Mount, Raleigh and Roxboro.

Monique McKithen says she was hired to work out of Roxboro after finding the position online and accepted an offer for a $70,000 annual salary. McKithen, a longtime public school teacher, was excited to work with children. 

"I thought it was a great opportunity," she said. "I was supposed to be the executive director for a program that was going to sponsor a summer camp free of charge for children in the community in Roxboro. And then, as the time progressed, we were going to change into a drop-in center like a community center, focusing again on an after-school component, tutoring."

Like Graves, McKithen says she has not received any of her salary, despite performing weeks of work.

WRAL Investigates reached Roxboro Police Chief David Hess, who said that his office launched a fraud investigation last year into Courtney Jordan and his companies, but the victim did not want to proceed.

The Durham Police Department told WRAL Investigates: "On July 16, several individuals reported that they had received checks for work performed at a camp held at a location in the 3100 block of Fayetteville St. but that the checks would not cash. There is an ongoing investigation into this matter."

WRAL Investigates contacted the State Department of Labor, which confirmed they, too, are investigating "in response to multiple complaints claiming nonpayment." A spokesperson said the Department would not release additional information until the investigation is complete.

The websites for the various companies associated with the Courtney Jordan Foundation claim the groups have a presence in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and describe Jordan as "one of the most influential philanthropists of his generation."

NC Secretary of State filings show there is no "Courtney Jordan Foundation" registered as a company or as an assumed name. CJF America, Inc. is listed as a nonprofit corporation.

Documents show it was formed in 2023 and that it was briefly dissolved by the state in June 2024 for "failure to designate a registered office address and/or a registered agent."

The Secretary of State website now lists it as an active nonprofit corporation. The Courtney Jordan Group Inc. was registered as a nonprofit with the state in 2011, according to Secretary of State filings, and was suspended by the Department of Revenue in 2017. WRAL Investigates emailed a DOR spokesperson to ask why but has not yet heard back.

McKithen and Graves told WRAL Investigates they wanted to share their stories in hopes of protecting others.

"I don't want anyone else to become a victim," McKithen said. "Because that is exactly what I am right now."

"We have people [who] have left good jobs to come work for this man," Graves said. "And this is the only way I can get the word out. The only way."