Mary J. Blige Admits to Charity Snafu: "I Didn't Have the Right People in the Right Places"

But, Grammy winner says she has a new team that's going to get her FFAWN foundation back on track after scandal

Mary J. Blige admits that her foundation has suffered from growing pains.

But though previous mismanagement resulted in a $250,000 lawsuit being filed against her Foundation For Advancement of Women Now, the Grammy winner insists that she has a new team in place that will get FFAWN back on track.

So, why did they get sued in the first place?

TD Bank filed suit over an unpaid loan that was taken out a year ago and was supposed to have been paid back by December.

The bank will get its money, though, according to a statement from Blige released today to E! News.

"FFAWN is not closing down," the Stronger With Each Tear artist says. "FFAWN is working as quickly as possible with a new team of experts that includes a philanthropic consulting firm, a non-profit law firm, and a forensic accountant. Their goal is to get the Foundation back on track, rectify outstanding issues, and make good on all of FFAWN's obligations.
 
"As soon as I was informed of the issues at FFAWN," Blige continues, "I immediately called my advisors and lawyers to get to the bottom of what was happening. As Founder and CEO of FFAWN, I am ultimately responsible for anything that goes wrong. The problem is that I didn't have the right people in the right places doing the right things. This should have never been allowed to happen, but it did and now we are fixing it. The good news is that we have been in touch with the MJB Center in Yonkers and the scholarship program, and both are in good shape."

Well, good, because the cause—to inspire women to "reach their individual potential"—is a worthy one.

Blige and record exec Steve Stoute launched FFAWN at New York City's Roosevelt High School in 2008, and the Mary J. Blige Center for Women opened in Yonkers the following year.