‘Michael’s’ Billion-Dollar Success Meets a Stunning Family Reversal

As the blockbuster “Michael” crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office and cemented Michael Jackson’s estate as the steward of the first music biopic ever to reach the milestone, another chapter involving one of the singer’s closest relationships has moved into federal court.

A lawsuit filed by four members of the Cascio family has generated headlines around the world. But court records, public financial filings and interviews with people close to the estate and Jackson family reveal a far more complicated story involving bankruptcy proceedings, tax liens, foreclosure litigation, an alleged unpaid $600,000 loan from Jackson himself and a family that for decades stood among the superstar’s most vocal defenders.

The federal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses Jackson of sexually abusing Edward Cascio, Dominic Savini Cascio, Marie-Nicole Porte and Aldo Cascio while they were children. It names the Michael Jackson Company, co-executors John Branca and the late John McClain, MJJ Productions, MJJ Ventures and others as defendants, asserting claims that include sex trafficking of children, negligence, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

For those who knew Jackson, however, the lawsuit represents an extraordinary reversal.

Jackson first met Dominic Cascio Sr. in 1984 while he was serving as banquet and general manager at New York City’s Helmsley Palace Hotel. The chance meeting developed into one of the closest friendships of Jackson’s adult life.

Over the next quarter-century, Jackson became a frequent guest at the Cascio family’s home in Hawthorne, New Jersey. He celebrated holidays with the family, spent extended periods there away from the pressures of celebrity and developed close relationships with the Cascio children. Just as significant, the family became one of the very few outside Jackson’s immediate relatives whom he trusted around Prince, Paris and Bigi Jackson, the children who today are among the principal beneficiaries of his estate.

That history makes today’s litigation particularly striking.

For years, Frank Cascio emerged as one of Jackson’s strongest public defenders.

In interviews, public appearances and his memoir, Frank Cascio  repeatedly rejected allegations that Jackson abused children. He described Jackson as a loving friend and insisted the entertainer never behaved inappropriately toward him or members of his family. During appearances with Oprah Winfrey and Wendy Williams, he defended Jackson’s character and dismissed earlier accusations against the singer. Years later, members of that same family are now asking a federal jury to hold Jackson’s estate liable for allegations they say occurred decades ago.

People close to the estate and Jackson family say the lawsuit cannot be viewed apart from the family’s financial history.

Public court records reviewed by The Informer show that James Victor Porte, the husband of plaintiff Marie-Nicole Porte, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in South Carolina in November 2025 before the case was converted to Chapter 7. During those proceedings, a bankruptcy judge granted a lender relief from the automatic stay, allowing foreclosure remedies involving real property to proceed.

Public records also show plaintiff Edward J. Cascio previously filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey.

Additional public filings document federal tax liens involving the Portes.

Sources familiar with the estate also pointed to a residence in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, valued at approximately $1 million, while arguing that Jackson himself had already demonstrated extraordinary financial generosity toward the family years earlier.

According to multiple people familiar with Jackson’s finances, the singer loaned Dominic Cascio Sr. approximately $600,000. Those sources contend they have never found evidence the money was repaid. 

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” one family associate said. “They are just trying to get money that they don’t deserve.”

The latest lawsuit also follows an earlier dispute first reported exclusively by the Informer.

Last September, The Informer revealed that the estate had accused former Jackson associates of attempting to obtain $213 million while threatening to publicize allegations they had spent years publicly denying. At the time, Branca described the effort as “a shakedown” and declared, “Enough is enough.”

Branca, who this week celebrated the new film’s milestone with social media postings, has consistently rejected accusations that Jackson abused children, speaking from a position few others occupied.

His relationship with Jackson stretched over decades. Although the two occasionally disagreed professionally, Jackson repeatedly returned to Branca for advice. Eight days before Jackson died in June 2009, the two reunited at rehearsals for “This Is It” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“Trust was never easy for Michael,” Branca told the Black Press in a recent interview. “We had a wonderful relationship in the ‘80s and a little more challenging as time went on because there were so many people in his ear… We parted ways on more than one occasion over the decades, but we always reunited when it counted.”

When Jackson finalized his estate plan, he selected Branca and longtime music executive John McClain to serve as co-executors, a decision Branca said demonstrated the trust Jackson ultimately placed in them.

“In the end he chose to keep John McClain and me in the will as executors and that said a lot to us,” Branca said. 

People familiar with internal estate discussions say Prince Jackson has also made his position clear regarding future settlements involving allegations against his father.

According to multiple sources, Prince has instructed the executors that there should be “no more payouts.”

“We always fought for Michael,” Branca explained.