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FOX 8 Defenders

  • Defenders Complaint Form

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Investigation expands into Spring View Medical Clinic

FOX 8 Defenders: Nationwide complaints prompt multi-state probe into Spring View Medical Clinic

Updated: Sep. 7, 2023 at 11:13 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The Louisiana Attorney General's office now says it's contacting other state attorney generals about its investigation into Spring View Medical Clinic.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Parc Fontaine Apartments

FOX 8 Defenders: Former tenant files suit against Parc Fontaine

Updated: Sep. 6, 2023 at 6:12 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Former Parc Fontaine tenant sues Tennessee-based religious non-profit over deplorable living conditions, joining a growing legal battle against the organization.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: More men file complaints against Spring View Medical Clinic

FOX 8 Defenders: More men file complaints against Spring View Medical Clinic

Updated: Aug. 24, 2023 at 11:31 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Men file additional complaints against a closed Metairie medical clinic after reports of unpaid bills and questionable practices.

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Attorney General’s office investigates Metairie clinic

FOX 8 Defenders: Attorney General’s office investigates Metairie clinic

Updated: Aug. 8, 2023 at 10:44 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The Louisiana Attorney General’s office launches an investigation into a former Metairie clinic that some local men say promised results for a problem they long kept hidden.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Bullets fly into family's home at The Willows

Fox 8 Defenders: Bullets fly into family’s home at The Willows

Updated: Aug. 4, 2023 at 10:50 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A young family living at The Willows says this violence is the last straw

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Man waits hours for police after car was shot multiple times

FOX 8 Defenders: Man waits hours for police after car was shot multiple times

Updated: Jul. 27, 2023 at 11:12 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A New Orleans man narrowly survives a shooting incident at The Willows apartments, calling for increased security measures and improved police response times.

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Northshore grandmother loses thousands in scam

FOX 8 Defenders: Northshore grandmother loses thousands in PayPal scam

Updated: Jul. 5, 2023 at 10:49 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A North Shore grandmother fights to recoup thousands of dollars, stolen from her in an online scam.

FOX 8 Defenders

Combating Carbon after Hurricane Ida

Lawmakers and feds take action to protect Louisianans from home generator carbon monoxide

Updated: May. 19, 2023 at 12:34 AM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Officials says a law change, prompted by FOX 8 investigations after Hurricane Ida, and a federal agency's new recommendations will save lives.

FOX 8 Defenders

Nonprofit owners leaving rental properties in dangerous states of disrepair could soon be...

Fox 8 Defenders: Measure to force slumlord nonprofits to pay taxes passes Louisiana House

Updated: May. 15, 2023 at 11:13 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Proposed constitutional amendment still needs approval of state senate, Louisiana voters

Top Story

Fox 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Lawmakers debate bill targeting slumlord non-profits

Updated: May. 11, 2023 at 11:20 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A debate on the House floor Thursday prompts questions from state lawmakers about a proposal to force slumlord non-profit property owners to pay taxes. The bill was drafted after our FOX 8 Defenders reports highlighted dangerous living conditions at apartments owned by a religious non-profit.
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News

FOX 8 Defenders: Thieves targeting post office boxes in Jefferson Parish

Updated: May. 4, 2023 at 9:01 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Multiple victims have reported their checks being stolen and altered after being deposited in the blue boxes in Harahan.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Owners of blighted property could face jail time under proposed law change

Updated: May. 1, 2023 at 10:38 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Criminal penalties proposed to get attention of absentee owners of blighted properties

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Head of code enforcement finds violations at Gentilly house after report

Updated: Apr. 24, 2023 at 10:33 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
City officials expect repair progress in six months or the owner could face a hearing and fines

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Kenner McDonald’s employee accused of threatening customer with a gun

Updated: Apr. 17, 2023 at 6:46 PM CDT
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By Natasha Robin
Grandmother said worker flashed gun during dispute at drive-thru window

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Residents file suit against owner of The Willows

Updated: Apr. 14, 2023 at 4:01 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A group of New Orleans East residents sue the owners of The Willows apartments alleging they've let the property fall into disrepair. Our FOX 8 Defenders investigations exposed what residents called dangerous conditions at The Willows and two other properties owned by a religious non-profit.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Proposal to reconsider neglectful nonprofit landlords’ tax-exempt status advances in legislature

Updated: Apr. 12, 2023 at 6:29 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A Tennessee religious nonprofit owns three apartment complexes in the New Orleans area

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Lawmakers to revisit tax-exempt status of nonprofits doubling as landlords after troubling reports

Updated: Apr. 11, 2023 at 10:25 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A House committee will consider a proposal to empower municipalities to seek property tax from nonprofit landlords who fail to maintain their properties

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Neighbors concerned about safety of Gentilly home

Updated: Apr. 3, 2023 at 10:54 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The property's owner said progress on restoring the house has been disrupted by thieves who stole building materials

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Lawmakers grill OMV leaders over poor phone service

Updated: Mar. 20, 2023 at 10:10 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
An administrator said the OMV has 62 job openings and is trying to hire more people to answer calls and return messages faster

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Callers say they can’t get through to the OMV

Updated: Mar. 14, 2023 at 8:18 AM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Frustrated customers say calls and voice messages go unanswered by state agency

FOX 8 Defenders

New La. bill would remove tax exemption status for non-profit ‘slumlords’

Updated: Feb. 28, 2023 at 4:25 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
The bill also gives authority to local municipalities to determine if a non-profit is fostering sub-standard living conditions at its properties.

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Child begs for help at Bellemont apartments

Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 10:07 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
One state lawmaker plans to file a proposal to pull the tax exempt status of property owners who run non-profits, but who lawmakers say are slumlords. The idea for the bill came after our FOX 8 Defenders investigations exposed what residents said were deplorable living conditions at apartments owned by a religious non-profit. Now, one group hits the pavement trying to help tenants who feel they have nowhere else to turn.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: City admits mistakes amid languishing roadwork woes

Updated: Feb. 13, 2023 at 11:32 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
New Orleans motorists and homeowners are frustrated by unfinished road work projects across the city

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Scammers posing as landlords putting renters at risk

Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 10:58 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
Experts say scammers are using every avenue possible to try and take advantage of people and they’re becoming more aggressive.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Apple Air Tags help locate stolen Hyundai in New Orleans

Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 6:01 PM CST
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By Rob Masson
Owners of Kias and Hyundais are looking for alternative solutions to a chronic theft problem, popularized by a group of thieves on TikTok.

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Residents complain of sporadic trash pick-up

Updated: Jan. 4, 2023 at 9:56 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
Some New Orleans residents say they're fed up after weeks of no trash pick-up from Richard's Disposal. Others say their pick-up is sporadic and they have no idea when the trash company is coming to their house.

Top Story

FOX 8 Defenders: Former JP Fire Chief calls Bellemont apartments a ticking time bomb

Updated: Nov. 23, 2022 at 10:40 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
The former chief of the Jefferson Parish Fire Department, calls the Bellemont apartment complex a ticking timebomb. The owner of the Bellemont is a religious non-profit that’s racked up fines and code violations over the years. Now, the former chief, Dave Tibbetts, says not much has changed there after a heated meeting with the head of the non-profit.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: JP leaders conduct monthly sweeps of Bellemont Apartments

Updated: Nov. 22, 2022 at 10:47 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
The Bellemont Apartment Homes' property manager said evangelist Richard Hamlet and his son Lucian are intimately involved with the Metairie complex’s operations

Top Story

Fox 8 Defenders: Nonprofit that owns Willows received millions in state financing

Updated: Nov. 14, 2022 at 10:07 PM CST
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By Meg Gatto
A religious nonprofit that owns local apartment complexes and pays no property tax is making millions of dollars in revenue every year.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Willows management attempts to end lease of family who spoke to FOX 8

Updated: Oct. 14, 2022 at 5:04 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The woman first spoke to FOX 8 in May, complaining about the nightly crime here and what she described as mold in her home and caving walls.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: New Orleans councilman angry about Parc Fontaine conditions

Updated: Oct. 3, 2022 at 10:33 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Councilman Freddie King says some conditions at Parc Fontaine are unacceptable

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Residents describe deplorable conditions at Parc Fontaine apartments

Updated: Sep. 26, 2022 at 10:32 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Residents at an Algiers apartment complex reach out to FOX 8, begging for help, saying they're living in squalor. One of the owners of Parc Fontaine is Global Ministries Foundation, the same religious non-profit that FOX 8 revealed, owns The Willows in New Orleans East, which was full of mold, and trash and which residents told us was unsafe.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Military vet scammed by repairman

Updated: Sep. 20, 2022 at 11:17 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A war veteran says he was scammed by an appliance repairman who was the subject of a number of Fox 8 Defenders reports.

FOX 8 Defenders

Defenders: Councilman works to toughen law on New Orleans’ blighted pools

Updated: Aug. 10, 2022 at 10:57 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The city said it is aware of the condition of the pool and will continue to take appropriate enforcement action against the property until the owner complies with the municipal code.

News

Village De L’Est roadwork causing safety concerns for neighbors

Updated: Aug. 10, 2022 at 6:28 PM CDT
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By Andrés Fuentes
Drivers heading through Village De L’Est down Lourdes St. will have to watch out for blocks of roadwork, especially when turning on Brittany Court where a massive truck-sized hole is.

Ida

Federal agency looking into whole-home generator dangers after Hurricane Ida, Fox 8 reports

Updated: Jul. 25, 2022 at 11:24 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reached out to Fox 8 for help in its investigation into whole home generators.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Questions surrounding fine levied against The Willows owner

Updated: Jul. 13, 2022 at 10:59 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
A New Orleans city councilman wants a stiffer punishment by code enforcement against the owner of The Willows apartment complex. The non-profit owner of the site still owes money from a code enforcement hearing two years ago.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Lot filled with crab traps upsets neighbors

Updated: Jul. 7, 2022 at 10:05 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
In an idyllic Venetian Isles neighborhood on the outskirts of New Orleans, some neighbors say they’re at their wits end.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: After 3 murders in less than 24 hours, The Willows ramps up security

Updated: Jul. 1, 2022 at 9:01 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
The Willows apartment complex in New Orleans East has stepped up security measures after residents told us they were terrified to live there.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Almost a dozen code enforcement violations at The Willows

Updated: Jun. 2, 2022 at 10:01 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
After a surprise visit, code enforcement inspectors have found almost a dozen violations of city code at The Willows apartment complex in New Orleans East.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: CEO vows to clean up The Willows apartments

Updated: Jun. 2, 2022 at 6:58 AM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
As New Orleans code enforcement inspectors show up at The Willows, the CEO of the non-profit that owns the complex called us to give his side of the story.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: City Council President calls for actions at The Willows

Updated: May. 25, 2022 at 10:51 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Our first investigation revealed the issues at The Willows, with residents saying the conditions are unlivable so Helena Moreno wanted to see for herself.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Residents complain of unsafe living conditions at The Willows

Updated: May. 25, 2022 at 1:30 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
Years of neglect, near nightly shootings and overwhelming filth. That's what some terrified New Orleans East neighbors say they've been dealing with at their apartment complex and it's who owns the complex that may surprise you.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Massive pothole causing headaches for drivers

Updated: May. 20, 2022 at 10:05 PM CDT
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By Meg Gatto
People say the pothole at the corner of Carrollton and Cohn, big enough to stand in, is frustrating and annoying.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Longtime nuisance property gets cleaned up

Updated: Mar. 31, 2022 at 9:27 PM CDT
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By Shelley Brown
The FOX 8 Defenders learn a longtime nuisance property we've tracked for years no longer poses a problem for one New Orleans neighborhood. While it's been cleaned up, some worry about other lingering eyesores in the St. Bernard area near Bayou St. John.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Covington man receives nearly 100 faxes meant for area doctors

Updated: Feb. 16, 2022 at 11:16 PM CST
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By Shelley Brown
A North shore man received dozens of faxes that contain personal medical information, and they weren't intended for him. Desperate to get the problem fixed, he reached out to the FOX 8 Defenders to track down answers.

FOX 8 Defenders

Fox 8 Defenders: Contractors say crime is impacting their jobs and livelihoods

Updated: Jan. 20, 2022 at 10:47 PM CST
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By David Jones
Amid the city’s violent crime surge, contractors are working on street upgrade projects that positively benefit neighborhoods across New Orleans. But they fear for their lives, and reached out to the FOX 8 Defenders for help.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Transformation of the old High Rise hotel is in the homestretch

Updated: Nov. 15, 2021 at 9:37 PM CST
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By Shelley Brown
It's been an eyesore you can't miss along I-10 in New Orleans East for years. Now a project to put it back into commerce is in the homestretch. As Shelley Brown explains in this FOX 8 Defenders follow-up, the developer feels it'll fill a need when it comes to affordable housing.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 DEFENDERS: Entergy investigates why leaky Kenner transformer wasn’t replaced within days

Updated: Nov. 1, 2021 at 10:03 PM CDT
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By Shelley Brown
A dangerous situation unfolded in a Kenner neighborhood when two Entergy transformers exploded and caught fire. A liquid poured out of one of them for hours. When residents couldn’t get a response, they called the FOX 8 defenders, and we helped them get answers.

FOX 8 Defenders

FOX 8 Defenders: Entergy investigates why transformer that leaked for months wasn’t replaced

Updated: Oct. 19, 2021 at 10:32 PM CDT
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By Shelley Brown
The FOX 8 Defenders learn an investigation is now underway after we started asking questions about a potentially dangerous issue. Jefferson Parish neighbors say the problem went on for months until something in their yard exploded and caught fire.
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