Posted on 12/26/2006 9:27:16 PM PST by Paddlefish
A month after his musical comeback hit a sour note, pop star Michael Jackson has sued his former accountants for breach of duty, claiming they withdrew huge sums of money from his bank accounts but neglected to pay his bills.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last Thursday and obtained on Tuesday by Reuters, says the accounting firm Bernstein, Fox, Whitman, Goldman & Sloan withdrew $2.5 million a year from Jackson's accounts but failed to properly pay the bills for which the money was earmarked.
Representatives for the Los Angeles-based firm were not immediately available for comment.
Jackson, 48, hired the firm in 2003 -- the year before he was indicted on child molestation charges -- to provide accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation and other duties, the lawsuit said.
The top news, photos, and videos of 2006. Full Coverage
The suit claims the accountants hired individuals and entered into agreements on Jackson's behalf without permission, then failed to communicate with Jackson or keep him apprised of his financial affairs.
Brought by Jackson and his company MJJ Productions Inc., the suit seeks unspecified damages, as well as accounting records for all of the money the firm received. It accuses the accounting firm of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
Jackson, who reached a deal with creditors earlier this year to refinance more than $200 million in debt and stave off insolvency, has remained largely out of the public eye since he was acquitted of sexual misconduct charges in June 2005.
Dividing much of his time between Ireland and the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain since then, Jackson emerged from seclusion last month to sing
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
Michele was just in Las Vegas over Christmas. He went on a giant Christmas present shopping spree.
yitbos
I predict failure of this lawsuit.
If I was a pedophile, my dad and brothers would disown me, and then kick the living sh*t out of me and then beat the snot out of what was left. And there would be nothing left to arrest.
What is it with Jacko?
Why is he suing everyone?
Sheesh.
Fixed.
In a just world, he would long ago have had his eyes burned out with a branding iron.
http://www.boredshitless.com/mj-history/index.html
He should be suing his plastic surgeons.
Mikey...basically spent all of his vast fortune. He spent millions that he borrowed from the banks. He spent money that his relatives gave him. He spent millions that the Middle Eastern bud's of his gave him. The grand song collection that he had put together ought to give a guy enough to live the life of a king without worrying about anything...but this guy spends the money like there is no tomorrow. So the Vegas guys got smart...they needed a worldly act...at a cheap price...so Mikey is desperate enough now to perform nightly to collect his money. I have yet to see the contract amount...but I'm betting it has to be over $20 million a year. This may even be positive...in that he is stuck in Vegas 365 days a year...and by forcing him to work each day...he might be spending alot less. Three years of this...and he might have a nestegg that he could retire upon.
Hey, if Wayne Newton can get rich off of Vegas...Mikey has the same opporunity.
"Michele was just in Las Vegas over Christmas."
I listened to some entertainment idjit on FOX this morning talk about how Jackson was perfect for Vegas and how he could make a huge fortune there. Your take?
I have never had any desire to go to Vegas. I am embarrassed that I have friends who do.
Poop has it his agent is working on a big gig, according to "Norm", the guy on page 3 of the R-J every day. Evidently, Michele can just about write her own ticket in this town. Big like Wayne Newton, Celine (the last year of her contract), the tiger magicians, maybe not Elvis.
yitbos
yitbos (I have never seen a Vegas show of any kind)
You'd think the first people he'd sue would be the plastic surgeons who turned him into a grotesque. Oh, that's right.... he wanted to look like that. I wonder if he still has a nose?
My heart bleeds.
Sounds like poor widdle Whacko Jacko signed a general power of attorney with people he shouldn't have trusted.
I've never desired to go to Vegas either. I always thought it as the capitol of sleaze.
The city of Las Vegas has run out of land even for annexation. Its growth is now almost entirely vertical.
Henderson, to the immediate south, however, has been annexing contiguous federal and county land. In the not distant future it will extend its city boundaries to the California border.
I live in Boulder City (there are only 17 incorporated cities in Nevada), a slow growth charter town of 15,000 just south and bordering on Henderson. Boulder City has local option no gambling, no stand alone liquor stores, and no prostitution.
yitbos
I think judging by the photo that his nose has gone completely necrotic. You'd think he could afford a better prosthesis than the current cover-job he's sporting. Who does his makeup anyways? The Crypt-Keeper?
My profound apology about your breakfast, FRiends...
He had a comeback?
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