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Michael Jackson Estate Identifies ‘Extortionate’ Abuse Accuser as ‘My Friend Michael’ Author
Michael Jackson’s abuse accuser is the author of the book "My Friend Michael," Frank Cascio, his estate claims in a new court filing.
In a petition to compel arbitration submitted to Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday (July 9) and obtained by Billboard, the Jackson estate identifies Frank Cascio as the man behind an alleged $213 million extortion attempt reported last fall. Filling in some gaps in that account, Wednesday’s petition says Cascio launched a “shakedown” of the Jackson estate when the HBO docuseries Leaving Neverland amplified years of child sexual abuse claims against the deceased pop superstar in 2019. As the petition puts it, Jackson’s estate “reluctantly” agreed to pay Cascio a settlement in 2020 — which previous reporting has tallied at $3.3 million — without admitting any wrongdoing and in exchange for a promise that any future disputes would be decided in confidential arbitration.
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