MICHAEL JACKSON SUED BY FINANCIAL HELPER

It’s only been a few weeks since Michael Jackson beat the child molestation rap in Santa Maria, California, but according to reports, he could soon be headed back to court.

A New Jersey asset-acquisition company that claims it helped Jackson keep from defaulting on $272 million in loans has sued him for payment of fees, saying the embattled star owes the company $48 million for services rendered.

The suit, brought by Prescient Capital, says the firm was enlisted by the Jackson camp last November to provide advice and seek funding to bail Jackson out of his debt to Bank of America, which was secured by his 50% stake in Sony ATV Publishing, which includes rights to over 250 Beatles copyrights.

Prescient is accusing Jackson of breach of contract, saying the singer has refused to pay fees incurred when the company secured some $537 million in new financing from Fortress Investement Group, which, according to the Associated Press, was to have been enough for Jackson to pay off Bank of America, buy the 50% of the Beatles copyrights he didn’t already own, and keep $3 million in cash.

Prescient claims it was owed an immediate payment of $24.8 million, or 9% of the Bank of America debt plus the $3 million advance. The rest of fees would have been generated by the remaining financing.

Jackson has refused to pay these fees, with billionaire advisor Ron Burkle being the last to communicate this to Prescient, according to a New York Times account of the suit. Prescient says it has a written agreement with Jackson and has carried out its end of the bargain.