Cuba Gooding Sr., Father Of Cuba Gooding Jr., Sued For Swiping $7,000 In Charity Money, Says TMZ


Cuba Gooding Sr., Main Ingredient singer and father of actor Cuba Gooding Jr., is being sued for allegedly stealing money from a charity. According to TMZ, Cuba Gooding Sr. promised to perform at a Christmas charity benefit for a children’s hospital, and was paid $7,000 in cash. But instead of promoting the concert, he took the money and disappeared.

Now, Reginald Lewis wants Cuba Gooding Sr. to pony up the dough, or else. According to court documents, Reginald Lewis stated that he has been unable to track down Gooding Sr. to serve papers or to collect the monies owed to them for the concert that the singer cancelled. The benefit was being held for the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

New York City Native Cuba Gooding Sr. was born in 1944 and is the lead singer of the group The Main Ingredient, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The group is known for hit songs “Everybody Plays the Fool” and “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely.” He credits the late and great Soul Train titan Don Cornelius for his successful career in the 1970s.

The 1970s R&B singer is also an actor and has appeared in the 1993 television series The Sinbad Show, 2004’s Roscoe’s House of Chicken n Waffles, and 2000’s Gedo, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

In the 1980s, his career took a downfall after the divorce from his wife. In an interview with Vibe magazine, his son, Cuba Gooding Jr., who has had a more successful career in Hollywood, describes how their lives took a drastic turn when he was younger.

“We lived in a big house and had chauffeurs. And then in the fifth grade… Bang! Rock bottom.”

His father has often made light of his financial struggles, stating that he has spent years trying to rebuild and recapture the fame that he once had. During some of those stressful times, he has made some mistakes.

In that same interview, “show me the money” actor Cuba Gooding Jr. describes a sort of a love-hate relationship with his father, Cuba Gooding Sr., where he would curse him out (respectfully) one minute, while telling him that he loves him the next. Through it all, Cuba Jr. insists that the love is there more than anything else.

TMZ tried to reach out to the elder Gooding but was unsuccessful. Earlier this year, Inquisitr reported on Cuba Gooding Jr.’s split from his wife after 20 years of marriage.

Editor’s note: The Inquisitr has been contacted by Cuba Gooding Sr’s representatives, who have offered a statement on his behalf, saying he “categorically denies and refutes all accusations of wrongdoing.”

“Cuba Gooding, Sr., long-time lead vocalist of the Grammy-nominated R&B/pop ensemble, The Main Ingredient, refutes all recent alleged claims made by Reginald Lewis, or anyone else, that he disappeared and made off with a “bunch of cash” from a planned Christmas charity benefit in December, 2013 that never got off the ground. Gooding said that he agreed to work with Lewis for the purpose of presenting a benefit concert for Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) in Baltimore. Gooding further said the $7,000 in question was paid to him by Lewis to help organize the charity concert, as well as to perform at the event.”

According to the statement, Gooding Sr. and Lewis both realized that more funds would be needed to put on the event as intended and agreed to do the concert at a future date, with Gooding to “keep the money as a retainer for the future booking.”

[Photo Credit: Facebook]

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