NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Whoopi Goldberg's company is reportedly being sued for $50 million over a New Jersey development dispute.
Whoopi Inc. is accused of working with West Orange officials to push out a developer the township selected years ago to revitalize the area’s downtown, according to a report in the New York Post.
Prism Capital Partners was chosen for the redevelopment in 2006, but the township changed course when downtown property values spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the outlet.
Prism was dropped in a plan to rezone the property and sell it off to another development group that included Whoopi Inc, the paper reporter.
A principal partner at Prism told the Post that Goldberg was initially interested in a studio at the property, but that conversations between her and the township changed, leading to Prism getting cornered out of the deal.
“Those conversations grew into something larger, and once we presented that deal to the Town they decided to cut Prism out of the deal and take the property for less money than we paid for it in 2007 – so they could negotiate a deal directly with Ms. Goldberg’s company,” Prism’s Eugene Diaz said in a statement.
“They are not only trying to avoid paying the $20 million owed but they are trying to profit by being a middleman that flips the property to Ms. Goldberg,” he added.
Attempts to reach Goldberg were not successful.
West Orange Mayor Robert D. Parisi told the Post he “categorically denies” the accusations from Prism, which he said simply failed to deliver on the development as it had committed.