Michael Jackson’s estate attorney Marty Singer told USA TODAY that the lawsuit is a “desperate” attempt by family friends who have previously “staunchly defended” the pop star as a “multimillion-dollar paycheck.”
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Four brothers who were avid supporters of Michael Jackson have sued his company and estate, alleging they were sex trafficked as children in the 1990s.
Former friends of the Jackson family, Edward, Dominic and Aldo Cascio, and their sister Marie Nicole Porte filed a lawsuit in California federal court on February 27, accusing Jackson’s employees of aiding and abetting his alleged abuse. They also claim that representatives of his estate forced him under false pretenses to sign an agreement that allegedly prevents him from “talking about the abuse he endured over the years.”
The lawsuit alleges child sex trafficking, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and fraud, and seeks monetary damages and a judgment that the signed agreement can be voided.
Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, was “a serial child predator who drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted each plaintiff over a period of more than 10 years, beginning when some of them were 7 or 8 years old,” the suit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that “years of brainwashing by Mr. Jackson left the Plaintiffs unable to seek help during their lives and for years afterward, or even to understand the vile acts they had endured.” In 2019, Jackson’s estate offered to send “five annual payments of approximately $690,000,” minus a 6% commission, to a man who represented them but said he was working with the estate’s attorney, in exchange for signing a “purchase and consulting agreement,” the family said.
The negotiations are said to have taken place after the release of HBO’s shocking documentary Leaving Neverland.
“In defiance of threats of financial ruin from the Michael Jackson Estate and in the face of publicly false accusations of extortion and falsehoods, the Cascios have chosen to remain silent,” Howard King, the Cascios’ attorney, said in a statement provided to USA TODAY on March 2.
He continued: “Not only are they seeking fair compensation for more than a decade of abuse of their entire family, they also hope that their accusations will inspire other victims and their supporters to shake off the bond of silence.”
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In July 2025, representatives of Jackson’s estate and company filed a motion to force out-of-court arbitration against the Cascios, including his brother Frank, who wrote his 2011 memoir, “My Friend Michael,” and is accused of extortion by the estate. Mr. Cassios pushed back against the move, arguing that the arbitration agreement could not be enforced.
In a March 2 statement to USA TODAY, Jackson estate attorney Marty Singer said, “This lawsuit is a desperate money grab by additional members of the Cascio family who have jumped on the bandwagon along with their brother Frank, who has already been sued in a civil racketeering arbitration.”
“For more than 25 years, the family has vigorously defended Michael Jackson and exonerated him of any wrongdoing. This new court filing is a transparent forum shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and businesses.”
Singer said the Cascios are threatening to “go public with heinous accusations that completely contradict everything they’ve said in defense of Michael unless the estate pays an extraordinary amount of money” and are seeking “a multi-million dollar salary.”
The family previously “threatened to press charges” after the release of “Leaving Neverland,” Singer wrote. As a result, Jackson’s estate “reluctantly paid Casios $2.8 million each over five years to protect Michael’s family and future projects that were important to Michael’s estate and fans, which was worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Michael’s beneficiaries and to the estate,” he added.
Michael Jackson allegedly ‘gave’ children alcohol and drugs
The Cascios met Jackson through his father, who worked at a hotel where the “Thriller” singer “frequently stayed,” according to the lawsuit. According to the complaint, Jackson spent various holidays with the Cascio family, sometimes including their children, and stayed at their home.
He also allegedly sexually abused, “groomed, and brainwashed” each of the children “without the knowledge of others or their parents” in the 1990s, according to the complaint. He allegedly gave the children “alcohol, marijuana, illegal hard drugs, and prescription drugs such as Xanax, Vicodin, and Viagra.”
The suit also alleges that Jackson lavished them with gifts, visits to special theme parks, meetings with celebrities, and travel, including accompanying them on the Dangerous and History World Tours.
Cassios’ lawsuit says this “manipulation and psychological and emotional abuse continued until days before Jackson’s death.”
The document they were prompted to sign was described as a “right to life” agreement, but rather it released Jackson’s estate “from liability for Jackson’s crimes,” according to the lawsuit. If the family had “fully understood the meaning of the document, they would not have signed it.”
The Casios claim that around April 2024, representatives from Jackson’s estate approached them “to increase the estate’s compensation,” and now the brothers have hired their own lawyers. They then “demanded restitution commensurate with Jackson’s crimes and the harm they caused,” the lawsuit says, which led the foundation to release “false and defamatory statements” about Jackson to the press.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free and confidential 24/7 support in English and Spanish via chat and 800-656-4673.
