JACKSON FAMILY SCANDAL: La Toya Jackson's ex wants mom Katherine deposed as he fights theft allegations
CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA: La Toya Jackson’s ex-fiance, Jeffree Philips, is demanding that all future hearings he is slated to appear for be postponed until the former’s mother, Katherine, sits for a deposition. Philips is accused of stealing $1M worth of Michael Jackson memorabilia. The King of Pop was Jackson's brother, and Philips had been with her from 1995 to 2015. The Jackson estate had sued Philips for stealing when he was invited to their family home on June 25, 2009, the day the popstar died.
The Jackson estate reportedly claimed that Philips had improperly taken items that he tried to sell to others over time. According to RadarOnline, the alleged stolen property included roughly 109 CDs/DVDs, most of which either contain handwritten notes on them or are private special editions, personal and legal papers, handwritten notes, five hard drives, a microphone set, a photo album with Jackson on the cover, three silver Mac laptops, two iPods, two Dictaphones with two micro-cassettes, and three standards cassette tapes. In addition, he also managed to leave with a black bag and a signed photograph of the deceased popstar, along with 11 framed platinum/gold record awards worth at least a million dollars.
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Jeffree Philips’ response to the allegations
Philips has denied the accusations of theft and claimed that Katherine, the Jackson family matriarch, had asked him to take the things away because the home would be cleared out soon. “I have never sold a single Carolwood Item nor have I publicly displayed them,” he said, adding, “I have never lied about having the Carolwood Items or otherwise concealed the fact that I kept the Carolwood Items in storage. Jackson's family members knew I had these items.”
‘Would not have refused a request for the property’
Speaking about the allegations, Philips said, “Had the Estate simply asked for the property and not resorted to the premeditated set-up and bullying tactics, I would have called La Toya to inform her that the Estate was requesting the items, and the two of us would have then called her mother. If Ms. Jackson instructed me to give the property back to the Estate, I would have done so. Although the property was given to me and belongs to me, I would not have refused a request for the property from the Jackson family.”
As of now, an injunction has been placed to prevent the alienation of any of the property in dispute while Philips demanded that Katherine be there for deposition. He has also said that her attorneys seem to be keeping her from attending the depositions, making her unavailable.