Howard King, the attorney representing a family accusing Michael Jackson of abuse, spoke to TMZ after a dramatic day in court in their fight with Jackson’s estate … and he explained what caused the family’s flip from ally to enemy.
Frank Cascio and his siblings reportedly settled for millions of dollars in 2020 with Jackson’s estate amid allegations the late King of Pop sexually abused them as children. But in 2024, Frank alleged he signed the settlement under duress.
Today, the Cascio family was back in court with Jackson’s estate, represented by attorney Marty Singer … who claims the Cascios are trying to extort MJ’s estate.
This presents a complete reversal from Frank’s days as a staunch Jackson defender. So why the change of heart? King says years of therapy helped Frank stop drinking “the Michael Jackson Kool-Aid.”
The emotional toll was evident, particularly for Frank’s brother, Aldo, who was seen crying in the courtroom before today’s hearing began and had to step out with King.
King explained Aldo’s breakdown, saying, “These kids are all damaged. One of the children in particular is severely damaged over what happened to him, and it’s only compounded by these ridiculous court proceedings where the estate publicly claims that he’s lying. He’s not lying.”
King says the first thing he did when he was retained by the Cascio family in 2024 was record each of the 5 siblings detailing the abuse they claim to have suffered at the hands of Jackson. This allegedly resulted in 10 hours of video testimony.
According to King, he showed Singer an hour of the footage, and he claims Singer responded, “This will never see the light of day. We’re gonna resolve this. Make me an offer.”
King claims Singer did make an offer, but then double-crossed him by publicly accusing King of extortion.
Now, arbitration is off the table as far as King is concerned. He says they’re asking for more than $200 million after Jackson reportedly paid accuser Jordan Chandler roughly $25 million for one instance of molestation in the ’90s.
However, Singer tells TMZ … “Mr. King’s statement is an outright lie.” He says he never made any of the statements that he claims were made. Singer says … “I spoke to a witness who was with me and confirmed that Mr. King’s statement is a fabrication. He is simply trying to deflect from the fact that he communicated a demand of $213 million which is the subject of our extortion claim and was reported to the authorities.”
TMZ.com
Frank’s attorney of record, Mark Geragos, will decide what steps to take moving forward.
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