Pop culture, celebrity scandal and true-crime combine in Faking Michael—a gripping new podcast series uncovering the biggest fraud in music history.

This week, 14 years ago, Michael Jackson’s estate and Sony Music unleashed Michael—their first posthumous MJ album including 10 unreleased tracks, all purportedly by the King of Pop.

Released in the United States on December 14, 2010, the album should have been a celebration of Jackson’s music and legacy. But instead, the project descended into chaos when the pop icon’s family claimed that three songs on the album—“Breaking News,” “Monster” and “Keep Your Head Up”—were fakes, with vocals by an impostor.

“If Michael Jackson’s mother says that’s not my child [and] his brothers line up and say that’s not my brother, what are we talking about? Why is this a big discussion?” – Former Vice President of Sony Music Cory Rooney in Episode 4 of Faking Michael

In response, Sony asserted their “complete confidence” in the authenticity of the tracks. Jackson’s estate said that two forensic musicologists had authenticated the vocals, and that a room full of Jackson’s longtime collaborators agreed the vocals were “definitely” his. But the Jackson family insisted that’s not what happened.

So what did happen? I made it my mission to find out.

Since the moment the scandal erupted, I’ve spent 14 years investigating the case, tracking down key witnesses, collecting evidence and making breakthrough discoveries regarding the authenticity of the songs in question. The explosive findings of my investigation are detailed in Faking Michael.

The songs at the centre of the scandal—infamously known as the “Cascio tracks”—were sold to Jackson’s estate by his longtime friend Eddie Cascio and Cascio’s songwriting partner James Porte, who claimed that Jackson had recorded the tracks in Cascio’s basement in the fall of 2007. But according to Billboard reporter Steve Knopper, who listened to all 13 episodes of Faking Michael in preparation for an exclusive interview with me (pictured below), the podcast “makes a methodical case” that the vocals were “faked” as part of an elaborate plot to “hoodwink” Jackson’s estate out of millions of dollars, and defraud his fans with forgeries.

At the time of their release in 2010, thousands of fans raised their voice in protest of the Cascio tracks, with many believing that a soundalike singer named Jason Malachi the actual vocalist. When Malachi’s longtime producer Tony Kurtis heard the tracks, he agreed, stating in a barrage of YouTube comments that he knew “without a shadow of doubt” that Malachi was singing on the Cascio tracks. In episode 8 of Faking Michael, Kurtis recalls confronting Malachi about it. According to Kurtis, Malachi initially told him that he “could not confirm or deny” his involvement. Malachi said the same thing to journalist A.J. Dugger, who also appears in Faking Michael.

“If you say ‘I can’t confirm or deny if I did that,’ YOU DID IT!” – Jason Malachi’s former producer Tony Kurtis in Episode 8 of Faking Michael

Faking Michael recounts the events of late 2013, when fan Vera Serova engaged the services of forensic audio expert Dr George Papcun, who analysed the Cascio tracks and concluded that the vocals on them were fake. Papcun found that the vibrato on the tracks matched with Jason Malachi’s vibrato, but not with Jackson’s. Papcun also found that the Cascio vocalist sang in a completely different dialect to Jackson, but in the same dialect as Malachi.

Another forensic expert, Professor Joe Bennett, appears alongside Dr Papcun in Faking Michael. In episode 11, Bennett scientifically confirms that samples of Jackson’s real voice had been stolen from his previously released songs and pasted into Malachi’s lead vocals—something that Jackson’s family, fans and former collaborators have long believed was part of Cascio and Porte’s sophisticated plan to trick listeners into believing the tracks were legit.

“I went wait a minute! That’s an ad-lib from ‘Earth Song!’ I’m the one that busted them!” – Michael Jackson’s longtime recording engineer Michael Prince in Episode 4 of Faking Michael

Based on the evidence, in June 2014, Vera Serova filed a fraud lawsuit against Cascio, Porte, their production company, Sony Music and Jackson’s estate, demanding the removal of the Cascio tracks from Jackson’s discography and refunds for fans who were defrauded. And while refunds were never issued, after 8 years of legal wrangling, Serova prevailed in the California Supreme Court in 2022, forcing Sony and the Estate to remove the Cascio tracks from streaming platforms around the world.

Huge Win for Michael Jackson Fan as Supreme Court Rejects Sony’s Free Speech Defense in “Fake” Songs Lawsuit

Faking Michael also reveals that in 2018, after years of refusing to confirm or deny his involvement, Jason Malachi hired a lawyer and offered to confess on the record to being the Cascio vocalist, before being influenced by an attorney for the Estate and Sony to remain silent. As part of his planned confession, Malachi wanted not only to be paid for his role as the vocalist, but to have the Cascio tracks released under his name, as Jason Malachi songs. In a shocking smoking gun, included in episode 13, I obtained never before heard audio of Malachi himself confirming these events.

“He would have to be very strong to come out now and say I’m gonna tell my story. Sony has some very powerful lawyers.” – Vera Serova’s attorney Jeremy Bollinger in Episode 13 of Faking Michael

From the opposite side of the world, my UK-based co-producer Dan Villalobos weaves all of this evidence together in Faking Michael, which we describe as the “inside story of the music industry scandal you were never meant to hear about.”

Upon its release, award-winning British reporter Charles Thomson said that Faking Michael was a “truly exceptional piece of investigative journalism” which “uncovers bombshell after bombshell, meticulously building a case that ultimately proves, beyond any reasonable doubt, that [the Cascio tracks] are fake.” Thomson adds that the evidence uncovered by my research team and I has “the potential to cause seismic repercussions. He deserves to win awards for it.”

“It’s the biggest scandal in the music industry, ever!” – Producer Dan Villalobos in Episode 13 of Faking Michael

On the subject of awards, there are several major podcast award ceremonies on the horizon, including The Ambies, Webby Awards, Peabody Awards and People’s Choice Awards. My co-producer Dan and I are hoping to be nominated alongside the other great true-crime podcasts of 2024, and are turning to our dedicated listeners to help make it happen.

As our listeners may be aware, the Faking Michael podcast series was not monetised—there are no ads, no subscription fees and no paywall costs to listen. We are thrilled to have been able to publish our 14 years of research for free, and wouldn’t change that for the world. But the reality is, because we did not monetise the podcast, we don’t have a budget to submit it for awards—a process which is not free, or cheap!

If you, our listeners, would like to help, we are accepting donations. Simply click here to make your contribution. No amount is too great or too small, and we sincerely appreciate your support.

In the two months since Faking Michael was released, the podcast has been streamed almost 200,000 streams across 80 countries, and has received hundreds of 5-star ratings and reviews. We are truly humbled by the response of our listeners.

A book version of Faking Michael, packed with even more information, is currently being written, and we are in the very early stages of discussions about a documentary version of the story. More information about these ventures will be made available in the future. To stay up to date, subscribe to our mailing list at fakingmichael.com.

If you haven’t yet listened to Faking Michael, or are discovering it for the first time in this article, the complete 13-episode series can be streamed for free on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

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Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.

Legendary producer Teddy Riley has spoken out against the controversial Michael Jackson album he worked on after the pop star’s death, claiming that he believes some of the tracks he was asked to remix for the project are fakes, but that he was “pushed” to say they were authentic.

“I just hope that the truth comes to light because it was never proven to me that it was Michael’s voice,” said Riley in a bombshell video published today by hard-hitting pop culture interviewer DJ Vlad for Vlad TV.

The songs in question, known as the Cascio tracks, were provided to Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson by the pop star’s longtime friend Eddie Cascio and his collaborative partner James Porte.

Cascio and Porte claim that Jackson recorded 12 songs in Cascio’s basement shortly before his death. Three of those songs – “Keep Your Head Up,” “Breaking News” and “Monster” – were included on the Michael album in December 2010.

Riley, who worked extensively with Jackson throughout his life, remixed “Breaking News” and “Monster” for the posthumous project.

Initially, Jackson’s family gave Riley their blessing to work on the project. Michael’s nephew, Taryll Jackson, even joined Riley in the studio.

But upon hearing the Cascio tracks, Taryll believed the vocals were sung by an impostor.

When the rest of the Jackson family heard them, they felt the same way, taking to social media to denounce the Cascio tracks as fakes.

Amidst all the controversy, Riley and Cascio appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s talkshow, where they both insisted the vocals were the real deal.

But when interviewer DJ Vlad asked Riley about it, the producer made the explosive claim that he was forced to say the vocals were authentic:

“I was influenced and pushed to say the things that were said.”

The producer went on to explain that he initially demanded proof regarding the authenticity of the vocals, but that no such proof was ever presented.

“They would not prove it to me,” says Riley.

Riley also says that Jackson’s nephew, Taryll, encouraged him to distance himself from the tracks, but that Riley felt too intimidated by those in control of the project to do so.

“I felt I was dealing with some high, powerful people. And I didn’t want no problems at all.”

Riley explains that his decision to continue working on the Cascio tracks ultimately cost him his friendship with Taryll.

“I was like, Taryll, I already got paid. What do you expect me to do? And he stopped speaking to me for a while. And I was like damn, I lost my friend over this.”

Riley said that to be involved in another Michael Jackson project in the future, he would need proof that the vocals were authentic, and for the Jackson family to be on board and involved.

“[Michael] is their family. This is their brother, their son, their uncle,” said Teddy.

“I will not move until I have their blessing. But this time I want a real blessing. I’m not talking about money. I want a real blessing from the family.”

Riley also took the opportunity to apologise to fellow producer Quincy Jones.

During the interview, DJ Vlad reminded Riley that back in 2010, Riley accused Jones of being too old to know the difference between the real Michael Jackson and a fake Michael Jackson.

“My apologies, my apologies,” said Riley to Jones in the video. “I always wanted to say that, because Quincy is someone I look up to… He’s a guy that I worship as my idol.”

Riley’s interview with Vlad TV comes just months after Sony Music and the Michael Jackson Estate abandoned the Cascio tracks.

As part of the settlement of a consumer fraud lawsuit filed against them over the Michael album, Jackson’s estate and Sony removed the three commercially-released Cascio tracks – “Breaking News,” “Monster” and “Keep Your Head Up” – from streaming platforms around the world.

The corporations have also re-pressed the physical CD of the Michael album without the Cascio tracks, and are now selling the amended version via the official Michael Jackson shop online.

For those of you who are interested, a podcast series called Faking Michael, detailing the findings of my 12-year investigation of the Cascio tracks, is currently in production. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube to be notified when episodes are released.

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Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.

Two ‘get out of jail free’ cards, played by Sony Music’s legal team in an attempt to get the corporation off the hook in a consumer fraud lawsuit, were ripped to shreds by the California Supreme Court on Thursday last week.

As part of their ruling, the court determined that the description on a posthumous Michael Jackson album cover was indeed commercial speech — not free speech, as lawyers for Sony and Jackson’s estate had argued — and that consumers have a case if false or misleading statements were made in the description.

The unanimous ruling sets an important precedent for the protection of California consumers in cases of alleged fraud moving forward.

This case

The controversy centers around an album titled Michael, released 18 months after Michael Jackson’s death by his estate and Sony Music Entertainment.

Prior to the album’s December 2010 release, members of Jackson’s family claimed that three songs on Michael  — “Breaking News,” “Keep Your Head Up” and “Monster” — were fakes, with vocals sung by a Jackson impersonator.

But Sony and Jackson’s estate insisted the songs, which they acquired from the pop star’s friend Eddie Cascio and his collaborative partner James Porte, were the real deal.

The songs are known as the ‘Cascio tracks’.

In response to the controversy, Estate attorney Howard Weitzman said he’d conducted an “exhaustive investigation” during which a host of Jackson’s former producers had listened to the Cascio tracks and confirmed that the vocals were “definitely Michael”. 

But several of those producers dispute Weitzman’s version of events. You’ll hear their stories in an upcoming podcast series called Faking Michael.

Nevertheless, based on the purported findings of Weitzman’s investigation, Sony asserted their “complete confidence” in the authenticity of the Cascio tracks.

With the authenticity a matter of conjecture, fan Vera Serova relied on Sony and the Estate’s assurances — that the tracks on Michael were indeed sung by Jackson — when she decided to buy the album.

Further convincing Serova to hand over her money was the product description printed on the reverse side of the album cover. It stipulated that the vocals were “performed by Michael Jackson”.

But as evidence contradicting the official story emerged, Serova began to believe she’d been duped.

And so she hired a world-renowned forensic audiologist, who conducted a groundbreaking scientific examination of the vocals on the Cascio tracks. His opinion: the vocals weren’t Michael’s.

That forensic examination was the catalyst for what became an eight-year David versus Goliath legal battle, culminating in Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling.

EXCLUSIVE: Forensic Report Concludes Voice on Allegedly Fake Songs is NOT Michael Jackson

Corporations can’t sell fake art as the real deal

“Relief has long been available in California to unwitting purchasers of imitation art who relied on false representations about authenticity” said the court in their 45-page opinion. 

“If Sony’s assertion that Jackson contributed lead vocals affects consumers’ experience of Michael, this illustrates how misrepresentations about an artist’s contributions can harm consumers in ways that matter to them.”

Executive director of the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, Ted Mermin, who supported Serova in her battle with Sony, said:

“If we are buying an album that is marketed as being the songs of Michael Jackson, it had better have the songs of Michael Jackson.”

As well as setting an important legal precedent protecting California consumers, the court’s ruling inadvertently protects artists. 

Based on the ruling, there is no plausible excuse for falsely attributing fake works to famous artists. This puts songs on par with paintings and sculptures when it comes to outlawing art forgery.

The ruling is a huge win for creatives, whose reputation — and therefore livelihood and legacy — could be at stake if corporations were free to commercially exploit pastiches under their name.

“Misleading attributions on a record jacket might not only confuse consumers […] but also harm a performer’s reputation,” the court’s ruling states.

But what happens if a corporation sells a forgery without knowing it’s a forgery? This was also covered in the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Sony’s ‘lack of knowledge’ defense

Sony’s purported ‘lack of knowledge’ was raised by the corporation itself in a 2016 petition to be removed from Serova’s lawsuit.

At the time, lawyers for Sony and the Estate volunteered to argue their case based on the notion that the Cascio tracks were fakes, but that they ‘didn’t know’ at the time they released them back in 2010.

It should be made clear that this wasn’t an ‘admission’ that the Cascio tracks are indeed fake. Rather, it was their way of arguing that ‘even if’ the tracks are fake, they’ve done nothing wrong by selling them to fans as authentic Jackson material.

In a December 2016 trial court hearing, attorney Zia Modabber argued that to be liable for misleading consumers, Sony and the Estate had to know the songs were fake, adding that Cascio and Porte had “failed to disclose to Sony or the Estate that Michael Jackson did not provide the lead vocals.”

But the judge overseeing that hearing didn’t take kindly to Sony’s position, saying:

“I think what [Modabber] is saying here is. ‘We were duped… We didn’t know [Cascio and Porte] were recording stuff in a basement that wasn’t recorded by Michael. [Cascio and Porte] told us it was Michael. We believed it was Michael.’”

The judge accused Sony of throwing Cascio and Porte under the bus before ruling in Serova’s favour, ordering Sony to face the music. 

But Sony appealed, and in 2018 the appeals court took Sony’s side, dismissing the corporation from the lawsuit. 

Serova then challenged the decision to dismiss Sony, petitioning the California Supreme Court to intervene, which they did.

That, in a nutshell, is how we got to Thursday’s ruling — arguments for which were heard by the court on May 24, 2022.

During that May 24 hearing, Modabber again argued that Sony couldn’t be held accountable because they didn’t know the vocals were bogus when they released them in 2010.

But on Thursday, the court rejected Sony’s lack of knowledge defense once and for all, stating that if ignoring evidence was all a corporation had to do to get away with fraud, false advertising laws would be redundant.

“If ignorance around a product’s authenticity were a legitimate defense against false advertising claims, sellers would be incentivized to know as little as possible about their own products,” said the court in their ruling.

“Sellers making claims about their offerings surely do not avoid false advertising regulation […] by scrupulously declining to verify those claims or to acquire knowledge.”

Jeremy Bollinger, one of the attorneys representing Serova, told the LA Times that the court’s ruling was not only a victory for his client, but for all music and art consumers.

“The decision confirmed that it doesn’t matter whether the seller has personal knowledge of the veracity of its statements about its products,” Bollinger said. “If you’re going to sell something, you’re responsible for those representations.”

If they didn’t know in 2010, they knew by 2018

As we discussed earlier: back in 2010, before the Michael album was released, questions were raised regarding the authenticity of the Cascio tracks. 

At that time, several people told Estate attorney Howard Weitzman that they did not believe the vocalist was Michael. They alleged it was another singer, named Jason Malachi.

In response, Estate attorney Howard Weitzman claimed that he spoke to Malachi and confirmed that he wasn’t involved. 

But when fans heard the Cascio tracks, many identified Malachi’s voice — not Jackson’s — on the tracks.

Further validating the reaction of fans was Malachi’s longtime producer, Tony Kurtis. In a barrage of comments posted via YouTube, Kurtis stated that he knew “without a doubt” that Malachi was the vocalist.

Even the aforementioned audiologist noted in his forensic report that the dialect and vibrato of the Cascio vocalist were consistent with Malachi, but not with Jackson.

Then, in early 2018, Malachi hired a lawyer. 

That lawyer then contacted Vera Serova’s legal team to discuss Malachi’s involvement with the Cascio tracks.

Serova and her lawyers claim that Malachi’s lawyer said that his client wanted to help resolve Serova’s litigation with Sony — and to get paid for his involvement.

https://twitter.com/MorinenMJ/status/1143072099000393728

A meeting between Malachi’s lawyer, Serova’s lawyers and lawyers for Sony and the Estate was arranged.

But according to Serova’s lawyers, the day before the meeting was set to take place, Sony and the Estate cancelled it, and communications with Malachi’s lawyer came to an abrupt end.

For the four years that followed Malachi’s attempted intervention, Sony and the Estate continued to argue their ‘lack of knowledge’ defense, while also continuing to commercially exploit the Cascio tracks as authentic Jackson recordings.

Calls and emails to Malachi and his lawyer — offering them the right of reply — were not returned.

Why don’t Sony and the Estate sue Cascio and Porte for fraud?

In their 45-page ruling, the California Supreme Court supposed that if the Cascio tracks are indeed fake, Sony and the Estate would want to file a fraud action against Cascio and Porte for duping them, stating:

“Presumably, Sony would seek to invoke any warranties, or assert fraud or other claims, against Cascio and his associates if it believed they peddled fake recordings.”

But in this case, it’s the exact opposite.

In fact, Sony and the Estate have stood firmly behind Cascio and Porte since 2010, regardless of the overwhelming evidence and public outcry against them — something that no one, including Jackson’s family, fans and former collaborators can understand.

Songs removed, case closed

In a somewhat anticlimactic end to their eight-year legal battle, just days before the Supreme Court issued its ruling, Sony and the Estate reached a settlement agreement with Serova.

As part of the settlement, Sony and the Estate were forced to remove the Cascio tracks from digital retailers and streaming platforms around the world.

Based on Serova’s statements over the years, it was clear that no settlement could have been reached without this demand being met.

Alleged Forgeries Removed From Michael Jackson’s Online Catalog After 12 Years of Protests and a Fraud Lawsuit

It should be noted that, according to Serova, she did not receive any money as part of her settlement.

As she has maintained from the beginning of her legal action, Serova’s main objective in filing this lawsuit was justice for Michael Jackson, his art and his fans. 

And while Sony hasn’t offered refunds — or an apology — to fans who feel they’ve been duped, the removal of the Cascio tracks from digital platforms worldwide has gone a long way to restoring the integrity of Jackson’s discography.

But despite the Supreme Court’s ruling — that the wording on a CD cover is subject to consumer protection laws — it appears Sony and the Estate have opted against recalling CD copies of Michael from music stores or other retailers around the world. 

This is surprising.

The case with Serova is settled only with Serova, meaning anyone else who purchased the album within the statute of limitations — or anyone who might buy the album in the future — would be able to sue Sony and the Estate just like Serova did.

The only difference is that a potential future plaintiff wouldn’t have to argue that the wording on the album cover was commercial speech, or contend with a ‘lack of knowledge’ defense from the corporations.

Now that the case is settled, will the truth regarding the Cascio tracks and the Michael album ever be told?

After selling the Cascio tracks as authentic Jackson recordings for almost 12 years — since December 2010 — Sony and the Estate’s settlement with Serova seems to have absolved Cascio and Porte of liability. At no point were the alleged forgers required to testify under oath, or prove the authenticity of their songs.

And while Sony and the Estate have stated that the recent removal of the Cascio tracks from digital platforms is the “simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all,” many of Jackson’s most dedicated fans continue to demand answers.

My forthcoming true crime podcast series Faking Michael will explore those answers, taking listeners behind the scenes to uncover the music industry scandal they were never meant to hear about.

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be notified when episodes become available.

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Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.