Jackson suspects former associates plotted to make him bankrupt: manager

[b]Jackson suspects former associates plotted to make him bankrupt: manager[/b] Posted: 08 August 2006 0744 hrs (Overseas time) LOS ANGELES – America’s financially battered “King of Pop” Michael Jackson believes that his former lawyers and close associates illegally conspired to drive him to bankruptcy, his general manager said Monday. Amid ongoing legal battles with unpaid staff, his manager Raymone Bain said he had compiled proof that Jackson’s associates and lawyers had crudely conspired against him. “Mr. Jackson is neither shocked nor surprised by these revelations,” Bain said in a statement. “He has long been suspicious that some of those whom he entrusted to act on his behalf, and to advise him with respect to his personal and business affairs, may not have always acted in his best interest,” Bain said. The manager added that Jackson may file civil and criminal suits against members of his former inner circle. But he did not say who Jackson would single out or when suits might be filed. Jackson’s chief attorneys quit August 2 after accusing the singer of missing payments. Jackson split from his manager and a team of lawyers on June 27 and announced plans for a major financial reorganization that included his decision to leave his Neverland ranch — whose staff was going unpaid. He briefly moved to Bahrain following a 2005 trial on child sex charges. He was acquitted on the charges but the trial drove him to the brink of bankruptcy. In April, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times reported that Jackson has incurred debts of 270 million dollars. The papers wrote that Jackson was trying to stay afloat by offering Sony rights to shares of his profitable music copyrights catalogue, which also includes Beatles songs. No such deal has been officially confirmed. Jackson has since announced plans to write a new album and move to Europe as part of a broader bid to revive his career. – AFP /ls source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/223698/1/.html