Michael Jackson’s “Second Family” Alleges Coercion and Abuse by Estate

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Members of Michael Jackson’s so-called “second family” claim in newly filed court documents that the singer forced them to hide from his lawyer as children and that the estate coerced them into a settlement to silence allegations of abuse.

The declarations were filed by Frank Cascio, 44, and his siblings Marie-Nicole Porte, 37, and Aldo Cascio, 34 in response to a petition by the Michael Jackson Company and estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain. The estate had accused the Cascios of attempting a “civil extortion scheme.”

According to the court filings, Porte alleges that in 2003 and 2004, when she was 15 and Aldo 12, Jackson instructed them to hide when lawyer Mark Geragos visited to discuss his child molestation case. “Michael seemed nervous and very paranoid about the possibility of Mr. Geragos discovering we were there,” she said.

The siblings claim that in 2019, shortly after the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, Frank told estate executors that he had been abused by Jackson. Aldo and Porte allege that the estate pressured the family into signing a settlement agreement without legal representation, describing the process as rushed, coercive, and intended to silence them.

Porte said the agreement, presented in December 2019 at her father’s restaurant in New Jersey, was read aloud to nine family members with only one physical copy to share. No lawyers were present, and the Cascios claim they were told involving legal counsel would delay the process.

“The pressure was compounded by the Estate’s exploitation of our family’s relationship with Michael’s children,” Aldo said. He also stated that the estate knew he was in therapy and had partially paid for it. “I was overwhelmed by trauma, feeling that both I and my family were falling apart,” he wrote.

The estate has dismissed the allegations as financially motivated. Co-executor Branca called the claims part of a $213 million shakedown, saying the 2019 agreement was “mutual and necessary” to protect Jackson’s children and legacy after Leaving Neverland aired. The estate previously paid longtime associates $3 million each under nondisclosure agreements.

A judge will soon determine whether the dispute remains in private arbitration or proceeds to open court.