Michael Jackson was on verge of bankruptcy before death

On Tuesday, a banker testified in court that the late Michael Jackson was nearly bankrupt by the time he died.

Feb 8, 2017

On Tuesday, a banker testified in court that the late Michael Jackson was nearly bankrupt by the time he died.

“He was on the edge,” banker David Dunn said during his testimony at the U.S. Tax Court in Los Angeles. “He was desperately trying to figure out what he could do to address his financial crisis.”

Dunn went on to say that he had been hired to help pull the famed singer away from bankruptcy in 2007 after his 2005 child molestation trial prompted Bank of America to back off from Jackson as a lender. According to Dunn, Jackson was in a “very precarious situation” and was $300 million in debt. Additionally, the Neverland Ranch was near foreclosure.

“We talked about his sadness in knowing he was never going to live in Neverland again,” Dunn said. “It was the culmination of the molestation allegations, the culmination of recognizing the financial situation he was in.”

“He talked about his young career and being at his peak. He was struggling with how to make a living and still be with his children, who were of paramount importance,” Dunn added, recalling how once, during a financial conversation, Jackson left in the middle of the discussion to take care of his youngest child, who wasn’t feeling well.

Dunn quit in 2009 because, he said, he could not tell “which way was up, which way was down,” and because he had not been paid, though he was owed $300,000.

A month later, Jackson died, and Dunn testified that the resulting spike in interest allowed his estate to refinance.

Currently, the Jackson estate is locked in a legal battle with the IRS, which claims that the estate undervalued its assets. If the IRS wins, the estate could owe unpaid taxes, interest and penalties of $700 million to $1 billion.