Since the news came out that singer Brandy’s mother, Sonja Norwood, has sued Kim Kardashian and her three siblings for stealing her credit card, I have been truly curious to learn the back-story behind this debacle. Kim apparently was Brandy’s stylist in 2004. I had no idea that Kim Kardashian ever had a job, besides supposedly giving or receiving golden showers (yes I forget the specifics of that rumor and am too afraid too look it up). But Kim did do something professional in her life besides going to parties and showing the world her ass cleavage. But I guess she didn’t do it that well - or at least that ethically - because she stole Sonja Norwood’s credit card, loaned it to her three siblings, and the group managed to run up over $120,000 in debt in 2005 - 2006.

“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,” Norwood said in a statement 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,” Norwood said. “When the fraudulent charges were brought to their attention, they apologized profusely, and advised us, through their attorneys, that they would pay the debt in full. However, they have since reneged on that promise.”

Norwood also said in her statement that her “investigation has revealed that the Kardashians used their two stores [Dash and Smooch] and other stores that I have never visited to take advantage of me. I very much look forward to having the Kardashians account for their misconduct in a court of law.”

[From In Touch]

Sonja Norwood’s statement clears up a few issues, but there are a lot of questions remaining. First off, the card was supposedly given to Kim when she worked for the Norwoods in 2004. Yet the charges occurred several years later. Did Sonja Norwood never get the card back, or did Kim steal the number? Secondly, how did the Kardashians sign for these purchases? Were they actually forging Sonja’s signature, or was Kim an authorized signer on the account? No matter what, how did the other three Kardashians use the card? Why did it take Sonja Norwood so long to notice and/or do anything about the fraudulent charges?

What I’m most eager to hear is the Kardashians’ defense. They have obviously denied any wrongdoing, and Kim has said she has documentation for all the purchases. It seems pretty unusual that Brandy’s mother would have Kim Kardashian - who is no longer her employee - use her credit card. It also seems odd that Norwood would randomly choose to sue the Kardashians if they hadn’t done anything wrong. Although considering their father is the late famed O.J. Simpson defense lawyer Robert Kardashian, I’m sure they’ll be able to come up with some sort of entertaining - if not plausible - defense.

Picture Note by JayBird: Header of Kim Kardashian, joined by her ass. Here are the Kardashian sisters (left to right) Kourtney, Kim and Khloe at Kim’s 27th birthday at JET Nightclub in Las Vegas on October 26th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Kim Kardashian has never really done anything that’s made me say, “Wow, that girl’s good with money.” She’s done a lot of things that have made me say, “Wow, that girl’s got an ass that should be on her chest,” but that’s about it. And apparently Kim’s ass cleavage is the biggest thing she’s got going for her, because not only is the girl bad with money, but she’s criminally bad. And when you combine bad fiduciary judgment with a ridiculous love of shopping and access to someone else’s credit card, things can get out of hand. Not for a regular person, but apparently for a Kardashian. In 2004, Kim was singer Brandy’s stylist. Brandy’s mother Sonja Norwood, who is also her daughter’s manager, gave Kim her American Express card to make one purchase for Brandy. Although it remains unclear, somehow Kim kept the card and continued to make personal purchases on it - totaling over $120,000. Not only that, but she lent the card to her two sisters and brothers. They even wracked up purchases at the Kardashian family’s own stores!

R&B singer Brandy Norwood’s mother filed a lawsuit Monday against Kim Kardashian accusing her of running up more than $120,000 in credit card charges without permission.

The suit, which also names Kardashian’s siblings Khloe, Kourtney and Robert Jr., alleges they ran up the charges on the mother’s card in 2006 and 2007. It seeks the return of the money plus 10 percent interest.

Kim Kardashian denied the allegations, telling PEOPLE she and her siblings had Norwood’s permission to make the purchases.

“We have her signature on all items,” Kardashian says.

[From People]

I’m sure she does have signatures for all items. Pretty much all credit card companies require you to sign a receipt. But I’m also pretty sure those signatures aren’t really Sonja Norwood’s, or she wouldn’t be suing the Kardashians I’m assuming that Sonja Norwood didn’t keep close tabs on her credit card statements - and if the debt accrued slowly enough, I suppose it’s possible a wealthy enough person might not notice. Considering Kim hasn’t worked as Brandy’s stylist in several years, I can’t imagine any excuse she could give for using the Norwood’s credit card. It’s a little surprising that no one noticed, but I would imagine they probably figured it out a while ago and made other attempts to get their money back before going for a lawsuit.

Kim wasn’t just Brandy’s stylist - she was also Brandy’s brother Ray-J’s girlfriend. You’ll remember that the two had a very infamous sex tape that Ray-J sold (some say Kim was in on the deal too, though she denies it). Maybe Kim thought she was due an extended shopping spree on the Norwood’s dime. The Kardashians are famous due to their deceased father, O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian. Considering their legal linerage, I’m surprised they haven’t paid up. I doubt they have a leg to stand on - and if nothing else, it makes an already tacky family look that much worse.

Picture Note by JayBird: Here are the lovely Kardashian sisters (left to right) Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe - at New Years Eve at Mansion. Images thanks to PR Photos.

It’s starting to look like R&B singer Brandy won’t get charged in the deadly car crash she caused last December. Brandy was driving along 405 (a few initial reports mentioned that she was possibly talking on her cell phone, though I can’t find any recent articles that mention it) at 65 miles an hour, when she failed to notice that traffic in front of her had slowed down. She slammed into 38-year-old Awatef Aboudihaj’s car, which then flew across the lane and was struck by another car. Aboudihaj died from massive internal bleeding. The one year anniversary of the crash is coming up on December 30th, and the L.A. City Attorney’s office has yet to press any charges against Brandy.

Sources tell TMZ that the City Attorney’s Office plans to make a decision at the very last moment. If charges aren’t filed, chances are the public wouldn’t notice over the holidays — and the case would quietly go away. TMZ spoke exclusively with Bill Sayed, lawyer for the victim’s husband, Marouane Hdidou. Sayed questioned the delay, saying, “There is a death and obviously reckless driving involved, which is enough evidence for an involuntary manslaughter charge. As to why the City Attorney has taken this long? I think we would all like to know.”

Over the past year, Brandy has pursued her usual activities; shopping, partying and living a normal life. Sayed says, “Brandy continues to live life with really no negative results … doing what Brandy is doing … as if though nothing has occurred here.” He also describes how life has become a roller coaster for his client. “Thanksgiving just passed and he was all alone — he has no family here.”

[From TMZ]

The lawyer does have a point – Brandy should have some kind of consequence. Though it obviously doesn’t appear that she intentionally caused the crash or was doing anything grossly negligent, she failed to slow/stop her car, which was going very fast. There’s no word on just how slow the traffic in front of her was – if it was nearly stopped, or just slowing down. Either way, the victim obviously died a horrible death, and it seems kind of unnecessary for Brandy to be out partying and living it up. She’s been photographed out a lot more in the last year. You’d think she’d want to keep a low profile. Her negligence caused a four-car crash, and she has been sued by the other three drivers. It’s unlikely she’ll do any jail time, but I’m guessing she stands to lose a ton of money. Especially since she reportedly admitted that the crash was her fault.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Brandy at Fashion Week in L.A. on October 16th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Brandy didn’t have drugs or alcohol in her system the day she caused a fatal car accident, but she may have been heartbroken and distraught. The National Enquirer claims that she was dumped for good that morning by her on-off boyfriend and onetime fiance, Knicks forward guard Quentin Richardson, and that she was seen crying when she left his hotel:

The morning of the accident Brandy had been visiting her on-again off-again fiance, New York Knicks basketball star Quentin Richardson, who was in town for a game.

“The tried to reconcile one more time when Quentin finally told Brandy it just wasn’t going to work. She left his hotel in tears,” said the source.

Later that morning Brandy was going 65 mph when she slammed her 2007 Land Rover in a 2005 Toyota driven by 38-year0old Awatef Aboudihaj, who was married with one child… Aboudihaj’s car hit another vehicle then slid sideways before striking the center divider. Brandy was not injured, but witnesses at the scene claim she was hysterical.

[From The National Enquirer print edition, February 12, 2006]

Brandy and Quentin announced their engagement in June, 2004, with Brandy sporting a $1 million custom-designed engagement ring. Right around that time the news came out that Brandy was never really married to the father of her daughter, producer Robert Smith. She claimed Smith was her husband when the two starred in a short MTV reality show about the birth of her child in mid 2002.

Brandy was so crazy about Quentin that she had his face tattooed on her left shoulder blade. She changed the tattoo of Quentin’s face to a cat when they ended their engagement in October, 2005.

I have been in one of those relationships where you love the person but it’s never going to work no matter how hard you try. It drives you crazy, but you have to just end it and move on. It was probably eating at Brandy for a while, and if this is true she must have been incredibly upset that morning.

Brandy is being sued for $50 million by the family of the woman killed in the accident she caused. The California Highway Patrol is recommending that she be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, but she has not been officiallly charged yet. The case is under review by the city’s attorney’s office.

I haven’t reported on this yet as I feel really sorry for Brandy and the victim and don’t want to think about it too much, but she caused an accident on an LA freeway last month which led to the death of a woman whose car she hit in a multi-car pileup.

It happened at 10:30 AM on December 30, 2006 on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Brandy was driving her 2007 Land Rover at 65 mph and did not notice that cars in front of her had slowed considerably. We’re told Brandy’s vehicle struck a 2005 Toyota. The Toyota then hit a 1989 Toyota. The 2005 Toyota then slid sideways and hit the center divider. As the 2005 Toyota came to a halt, it was struck by a 1988 Acura…

We’re told the driver of the 2005 Toyota, Awatef Aboudihaj, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in critical condition and she died the next day. Aboudihaj, a 38-year-old married mother of one, was a Los Angeles resident.

Brandy was said to be wandering around distraught afterwards on dangerous freeway saying it was her fault.

The California Highway Patrol is recommending that she be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, but she has not been officiallly charged yet. The case is under review by the city’s attorney’s office.

A source in the police department told TMZ that they believe she was driving too fast and that her negligence caused the crash. They do not believe she was grossly negligent, which I guess means she is at fault but that the case is not clear cut or something. Brandy was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

A civil rights group has chimed in, most likely to get publicity for their cause. They’re saying that Brandy is being made an example of because she’s a famous celebrity, and that it’s not fair.

Meanwhile Brandy is being sued for $50 million in a civil suit by the victim’s family. They claim she was driving recklessly when she hit Aboudihaj’s car.

This is just a sad story all around, and it must be devastating for Brandy and for the victim’s family. I wasn’t paying attention once and caused a minor car accident. I was super tired but that was no excuse. I can’t imagine causing someone’s death.

Unflattering header image of Brandy at the U.S. Open is from BrandyFan.com.