” As Reports Reveal, That The Designer Of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Controversial Met Gala Dress Owes Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Back Taxes, AOC Seems Unfazed.”
September 20, 2021 By John Elberger Reporting For: Englebrook Independent News, Supported By The New York Post,
NEW YORK, NY.- Aurora James, The Fashion Designer behind New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ” Tax the Rich” dress she wore at The 2021 Met Gala, now stands accused of not paying taxes which she owes in multiple states.
James who said her dress sent a powerful message at the event does not appear to abide by the message. According to The New York Post, the high profile designer’s debt is mostly owed by Cultural Brokerage Agency, an LLC she formed in 2021 to serve as the parent company for her fashion brand, Brother Vellies.
The newspaper reported, James’s Company racked up three open Tax Warrants in New York State, after failing to collect income taxes from employees paychecks in the amount of $14,798.00.
The Department of Taxation and Finance revealed that the outstanding payments were from 2018 and 2019. The LLC has a total of Fifteen Warrants since 2015. The Internal Revenue Service also placed Six Federal Liens in the two years before The Pandemic on The LLC amounting to $103,220.00. A lien is the government’s claim against one’s property when one fails to pay off a tax debt.
According to The New York Post, the Canadian Designer had no qualms accepting $41,666.00 from the government in Pandemic Relief Aid. James and Ocasio-Cortez garnered attention on The Met’s Red Carpet as the 31-year-old self proclaimed Socialist wore a dress with the slogan ” Tax the Rich” to the $35,000 a ticket event.
Despite compiling up Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in unpaid taxes, James reportedly bought a $1.6 Million Hollywood Hills home in September 2020, and she currently owes $2,504.00 in property taxes on the home. The nearly 7,100 Square-Foot Mansion reportedly has three bedrooms, two baths, a master bedroom fireplace, and a backyard hot tub.
Cultural Brokerage Agency is also accused of failing to pay benefits its employees are entitled to. The Worker’s Compensation Board levied the company with a $17,000.00 fine in October 2019 for not carrying Workers Compensation Insurance from March 2017 to February 2018. The insurance amount is paid out when an employee is injured at work, or has to take off as a result.
James, however, seems unconcerned. A Company Spokesperson reportedly told The Post she has not made a single payment on the $62,722.00 she owes to The Board. Former employees described Brother Vellies as a sweatshop relying mostly on unpaid interns working full time jobs. ” I experienced a lot of harassment when I worked for her,” a former worker told The Post on a condition of anonymity. ” Aurora would ask me to do things that were not in anyone’s job description, like scheduling her Gynecological Appointments. The work environment was so hostile that I was afraid to ask for my check.” Meanwhile, a former intern told the newspaper that James was “Quite Cold” and never gave ” Recognition Or Acknowledgement” to her team.
If that is not enough, The New York Post also obtained records indicating James doesn’t pay her rent. The Newspaper reported how her Landlord filed papers in August 2020 to evict Brother Vellies from their 71 Franklin Street Office in Brooklyn, New York, and demanded more than $25,000.00 plus interest if James wanted to stay beyond the end of her lease. The case was reportedly settled but the details were unclear. In another instance, in February 2018, James was reportedly sued for more than $5,000.00 in unpaid rent at her shop’s former New York City address, located at 209 West 38th Street.
Ocasio-Cortez who has made her Congressional career out demanding better wages for workers and taxing the rich to pay for her ridiculous plans, has remained silent on James tax problems. But would would you expect, when Ocasio-Cortez stills owes New York State $1,860.00 for unpaid taxes for her failed Publishing Company, that never published a single thing.