Michael Jackson Estate Accused of Coercing Abuse Allegation Settlement
An individual alleging that Michael Jackson abused him and his siblings during their childhood informed a judge that he experienced “tremendous coercion” to sign a resolution agreement with the deceased singer’s estate, Us Weekly has learned exclusively. The estate, however, contends that this man and his relatives threatened to spread “untrue” accusations concerning the deceased artist unless a payment of hundreds of millions was made.
“In late December 2019, I discovered that [members of my family] had already finalized a settlement agreement with the Estate, but its validity depended on my signature,” Frank Cascio, who maintained a close relationship with Jackson for many years, stated in court documents dated October 27.
He further elaborated, “At that period, my family was in severe disarray, and the agreement seemed to offer them a sense of finality. Recognizing this, I felt immense pressure to sign as well, hoping to prevent further discord within the family during this incredibly challenging time.”
Cascio mentioned that he was diagnosed with dyslexia in the fifth grade and struggles with grasping written material. He recalled that when presented with the settlement document, “I found many of its provisions difficult to comprehend, especially the legal terminology.”
He asserted that the estate’s legal representatives advised him that seeking his own attorney would cause delays. (In official court filings, the executors present a significantly different account of the circumstances leading to the settlement. They claim that Cascio and his family indicated they would pursue claims against Jackson, which conflicted with their earlier support for him, unless they received compensation.)
Cascio alleged, “[The estate lawyers] went on to explain that labeling the settlement a ‘life rights agreement’ would ensure its confidentiality, bypass probate proceedings, and keep it hidden from [Jackson’s children] — even though we were very uneasy about concealing this from them and pushed this point with the Estate.”
He continued, “Despite my family’s persistence, the Estate remained unyielding and declared this term non-negotiable.”
“The lawyers and representatives for the Estate led me to believe they had my best interests in mind. They communicated with me in a reassuring and supportive manner, which caused me to trust them completely,” Cascio recounted. “The Estate persuaded me that my family would find peace and comfort by moving forward with their lives, and that signing the agreement would mean our family’s private information would not be exposed.”
Cascio stated that his mental and emotional state were “vulnerable” at the time due to the “trauma he had endured and the discord within” his family.
“Acting under that duress, and with misplaced confidence in the Estate’s representatives, I signed the agreement in January 2020 without legal counsel of my own and without fully grasping its consequences,” Cascio detailed in the court-filed declaration.
Cascio explained he was alone in a room with one of the estate’s lawyers. He said he read the document but its terms were not clarified for him.
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“[The lawyer] simply indicated where I needed to affix my signature,” Cascio claimed. “He then embraced me and expressed his deep sorrow for what my family had experienced and encouraged me to reach out if we ever needed assistance. When I requested a copy of the agreement, he identified which of the Estate’s representatives would possess one.”
Cascio argued that the settlement lacked enforceability and requested that the dispute not be relegated to arbitration, as the estate had sought.
In their court submissions, the executors present a markedly different version of events.
As Us previously reported, the legal dispute between the estate and the Cascio family began on July 9. The two individuals managing Jackson’s estate, John Branca and John McClain, accused Cascio and his family of a $213 million civil extortion plot against the estate. In their filing, the executors elaborated on how Cascio had consistently spoken favorably about Jackson for years. They asserted he supported Jackson throughout his criminal trials, where he faced child abuse accusations but was never convicted, and even authored a book describing Jackson as a wonderful friend.
“However, after Michael’s passing and the financial prosperity of The Estate of Michael Jackson, [Cascio] and his associates threatened that unless they received substantial sums of money, they would retract their fervent defense of Michael and instead go public with allegations that completely contradicted their steadfast declarations of his innocence,” the executors’ lawsuit contended. “It was a coercive demand.”
Branca and McClain believe Cascio and his family conceived this idea following the release of the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland. The film, distributed by HBO, featured two other alleged victims, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who provided detailed accounts of childhood sexual abuse by Jackson.
In their petition, the executors claimed that, “Despite a decades-long friendship with Michael Jackson, and after years of ardently defending Michael against false and scandalous claims made by others, [Cascio and his family] decided to capitalize on the negative publicity stemming from the release of ‘Leaving Neverland’ in order to try to profit from making their own baseless allegations against Michael.”
The executors further explained, “To accomplish this, [Cascio and his family’s] representative insisted on meeting with [The Michael Jackson Company] representatives at the Sunset Marquis Hotel swimming pool while wearing only bathing suits, so that [Jackson company] representatives could not wear a ‘wire’ to record the conversation.”
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“Only someone engaged in extortion or other illicit conduct would be concerned about their conversation being recorded,” the executors’ petition argued. “An honest person asserting legitimate legal claims should have no objection to being recorded.”
The executors characterized the swimming pool meeting as “unusual.”
The estate stated it engaged with Cascio’s representatives but claimed the, “negotiation with [Cascio and his family] evolved into a coercive demand in which [Cascio] and his associates each demanded substantial amounts of money, otherwise they threatened to fabricate false allegations against Michael which were the opposite of their prior glowing statements about Michael they had made in his defense over the prior decades. And they were free to do this because there is no protection against defamation for a deceased person.”
The executors stated they “reluctantly” finalized an agreement with the Cascio family in 2020 on the advice of their lawyers and to prevent Jackson’s children, Paris, Prince and Bigi, from having to hear “further false accusations.”
Branca and McClain claimed Cascio initially demanded $213 million when he was represented by his former attorney. They noted the demand decreased to $44 million when he engaged prominent lawyer Mark Geragos to take over the case.
In their filing, the executors requested that the entire court proceeding be removed from public view.
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Cascio’s sister, Marie-Nicole Porte, submitted a declaration executed on October 27 detailing the circumstances of the settlement. She alleged, “Upon realizing in 2019 that my siblings and I had comparable experiences with Michael Jackson, representatives of the Michael Jackson Estate moved swiftly to suppress the revelation of those facts and to prevent us from speaking openly about what had occurred.”
Porte claimed one of the estate’s representatives visited her father’s restaurant in New Jersey in December 2019. She said they “gathered in a private room upstairs for the signing of a purported ‘settlement agreement.’”
She wrote in her declaration that all her siblings were present except Cascio, who resides in California.
“My parents were also there, as were my spouse and the spouses of my brothers,” Porte alleged. “Even though there were nine of us asked to endorse the agreement, only one copy was read aloud to us before we were prompted to sign it. No one signed the agreement on behalf of the Estate. The entire situation felt hurried, pressuring, and overwhelming.”
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“At that moment, I was emotionally delicate, angry, and still attempting to process the immense scope of what we had endured—and the shocking realization that my siblings had suffered similar maltreatment,” Porte’s declaration read. “I felt trapped and powerless. I had no legal counsel, I had not seen the document beforehand, and I had no real chance to grasp all the legal principles contained within the agreement.”
“We were subjected to extreme time constraints and informed this was a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ scenario. In that instant, surrounded by influential individuals who had controlled so much of our family’s life and legacy, I felt immense pressure to sign.”
Jackson passed away in 2009 at the age of 50.
