AOC's 'Tax the Rich' designer accused of leaving small business with massive charity gala bill

The February bash boasted an attendee list that included Meghan Markle and Kimora Lee Simmons, and was held with the intention of raising money for Black business owners.

However, a civil lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court by The Gathery alleges James, her nonprofit 15 Percent Pledge, and its fiscal sponsor, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation (PVF) left the planners with the bill.

The plaintiffs are seeking at least $1,082,965.28 in damages from the three parties, along with contractually owed interest and additional financial damages.

According to court documents, James's nonprofit allegedly made two initial deposits toward the $1.5 million bill to The Gathery, which produced the annual fundraiser in both 2024 and 2025 without issue, before ceasing all payments in November 2025.

James "personally directed the project and repeatedly induced TGI to continue performing even after payment defaults had begun," the suit reads.

"James approved change orders expanding the scope and cost of the event, signed the Feb. 4, 2026, amendment admitting breach, and assured TGI that payment would be forthcoming - all while knowing, or recklessly disregarding, that 15PP lacked the ability to pay," it continued.

"Launched in 2020 by Aurora James, the initiative was born from seeing multiple acts of injustice and police brutality in the United States with a lack of accountability for the systemic issues at play," the website states.

The ongoing civil lawsuit is not James' first time allegedly missing payments.

The company has also reportedly faced multiple legal claims alleging it repeatedly failed to pay worker benefits.

The alleged financial hypocrisy by James - an outspoken activist with deep ties to the fashion world - was noted by both legal and political experts.

Kaivon Shroff, a former digital organizer for Hillary Clinton's campaign, also noted the apparent irony in the allegations against James.

"AOC made Aurora James's 'Tax the Rich' dress one of the defining political images of the Met Gala and excess wealth at a time of great economic inequality, so the irony here is impossible to miss," Shroff told Fox News Digital. 

"James built her public brand around economic justice and supporting Black-owned businesses," he added, while noting that now she is being sued by a small business.

"That is exactly the kind of contradiction opponents seize on to argue that the politics are performative," Shroff said.

"Movements built around economic fairness and supporting marginalized businesses are so important, and they depend heavily on credibility and goodwill," he added. "When the people most visibly associated with those causes are accused of behaving in ways that seem completely at odds with the message, the damage does not stop with the individual. It gives critics an easy way to discredit the cause itself."

Fox News Digital reached out to James' attorney for comment but did not immediately receive a response.