Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch may be saved

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch may temporarily be out of financial peril on Wednesday. But there’s been a mini-financial soap opera running in the background, one which Michael probably knows nothing about, and it’s a doozy.

Sources tell me that for the last several months, Jackson’s former manager and press person Raymone Bain has been spearheading a drive to refinance Neverland without actually bothering to tell Jackson or his legal representatives.

Indeed, she and a group of financial advisers she organized may have been doing it long after Jackson dismissed her as his manager.

The result is that a rock-solid investment group in Los Angeles has been taught the lesson that no good deed goes unpunished.

According to the story, a Los Angeles investor named Jason Cestero was located by a financial group called Genesis Group, run by Kevin Kinsey. Kinsey, I am told, sent Cestero letters identifying himself as lead adviser to MJJ Neverland Ranch Finance Restruct Project. Kinsey, this source says, told Cestero that he was brought on board by Bain, Jackson’s then-manager.

In correspondence and in conference calls with Kinsey and Cestero, Bain represented herself and her PR assistant Aidean King as a firm called North Star.

Based on the letters, e-mails and calls that then began, Cestero and wealthy East Coast investors planned for the refinancing of Neverland.

By last month, based on back-and-forth e-mails and telephone conversations, Cestero — acting on good faith — placed $46 million in escrow with the goal of refinancing the Neverland lien held by Fortress Investments in New York and getting Jackson out of trouble.

But then things started to sound strange to Cestero, sources tell me. The escrow company received a notice from Genesis indicating that $4.6 million of the Cestero money would go to it once escrow on the property closed.

At that point, sources say, Cestero began asking to speak with Jackson directly. When that didn’t happen, Cestero’s suspicions — which already had been brewing — blossomed. He demanded an answer. I’m told that at that point a rep for Bain contacted Cestero saying, suddenly, the deal was off.

Simultaneously: In New York and other parts of Los Angeles, Jackson’s legal representatives knew nothing about these transactions. They had no idea that such a large amount of money was in escrow or that Cestero and his investor existed.

What they did know was that Neverland was in danger of being auctioned off in public on March 19 on the steps of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

Similarly, unbeknownst to Cestero, Fortress was agreeing, albeit reluctantly, to renegotiate Jackson’s Neverland loan, charge him a hefty fee and extend the default arrangement for one year. The plan was for Fortress to avoid the public embarrassment of evicting Jackson from his home, and in broad daylight.

Ironically, while both sides proceeded, it’s more than likely Jackson also knew nothing of the $46 million placed in escrow for him, or anything of the Cestero deal.

Wednesday morning, sources tell me, Jackson’s people feel they may have a deal in place with Fortress. At the same time, Cestero — who did not return calls — is left holding a $46 million bag. He and his investor will get their money back, but not the time, aggravation or fees from dealing with Bain’s people.

Still, a major question lingers: the request for the $4.6 million from Genesis. I’m told Cestero was informed that was for fees for Kinsey, Bain, King and even possibly Michael’s brother, Randy, who was mentioned as being part of the deal to refinance Neverland.

"They were supposedly people who expected to be paid something for putting the financing into motion," a source says.

More to come on this issue…

Meantime…

So is Neverland saved? It’s still a bit foggy. But there is some good news on the horizon. The "Thriller 25" album has sold better than anyone imagined. A month later, the revamped package is holding its own in the top 10. Last week, "Thriller 25" was one of the few CDs that actually increased its sales, by 20 percent. It sold almost 50,000 copies. In this economy, with the record biz dead, that’s quite an accomplishment.

At a total 300,000-plus, "Thriller 25" is heading for gold certification with the RIAA. That would be quite an accomplishment for a CD that’s been reissued several times. It also might be a sign of how bad things are in the marketplace. Good music is being drunk like water in the desert!
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