Michael Jackson's Ex-Manager Caught In Explosive Gambling Scandal

Frank Cascio, a longtime friend and former personal manager of Michael Jackson, is at the center of a shocking controversy.

The author and music insider is now facing serious allegations tied to unpaid gambling debts and questionable arrangements with Instagram models.

Once known for his close bond with the King of Pop, Cascio is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Frank Cascio, 45, is best known for his memoir "My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man," which chronicles his decades-long friendship with the pop icon.

But now, instead of celebrating his storied past, Cascio is under fire for what appears to be a mounting gambling problem.

According to two Instagram models, Cascio allegedly used the platform Seeking Arrangement to contact them, paying for their company on date nights and private hangouts.

The women, Grace Glenn and Julia Geraci, claim Cascio initially appeared generous and low-key until things took a turn.

"Frank was super chill and generous. Seemed like a really normal person and was polite. He paid for Ubers, dinner, and everything else," said Grace in a statement obtained by The Blast. "But then we were approached by random men literally outside our hotel. They told us that he owed a lot of money and they would pay us for any information—and they wanted to know where he was. We thought it was a prank at first, but after a few minutes, we realized it was serious."

The models, both in their early 20s with a combined three million Instagram followers, claim they had no idea about Cascio's alleged debts until these alarming encounters.

They now say they were caught off guard by the aggressive behavior of men who were allegedly looking to collect on over $200,000 in unpaid gambling debts owed by Cascio.

Julia added her own chilling account, saying, "It was scary. I matched with him on SA (Seeking Arrangement) and thought he was just a rich guy with a lot of success in the music industry."

She added, "He didn't have any Instagram or even Facebook when we tried to look him up or anything. At first, we thought it was just a catfish account until we called him on FaceTime. I thought maybe he could help us network or at least just have some fun."

Cascio and his family have long stirred public curiosity due to their close ties with Michael Jackson, but the former manager has largely stayed out of the limelight.

With no visible social media presence and few recent public appearances, Cascio has maintained an air of mystery until now.

"He stopped responding to my texts and blocked me on SA (Seeking Arrangement)," Julia said.

Despite multiple requests for comment, Cascio has yet to address the allegations.

Cascio met Jackson in 1984 when the latter was a global pop star at the peak of his powers.

Over the next 25 years, Cascio and his family became part of Jackson's inner circle, traveling the globe with the superstar.

By the time he turned 18, Cascio had officially joined Jackson's team as his assistant and eventually took on the role of personal manager.

In "My Friend Michael," Cascio shared details of his longstanding friendship with Jackson and how he stood by him amid his child molestation charges and use of prescription drugs.

In a chat with Huffpost, Cascio opened up about his closeness to Jackson and how his family bonded with the late pop star.

He said, "We established a real friendship. We became a big family; Michael was a part of our family. Every Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthday -- we made a point to celebrate together. It became tradition for all of us."

Despite their closeness, Frank Cascio and Michael Jackson had a falling out.

Cascio explained what happened then, noting, "It was due to a lack of communication during the second [molestation] trial. Michael was told false information that I did not wish to testify on his behalf -- which really hurt him -- and that was never ever the case."

He continued, "I was more than willing to testify on Michael's behalf. I was an unindicted co-conspirator, so we were legally not allowed to be in constant communication. There was a lot of jealousy on behalf of the people who were working with him at the time."

Jackson's former assistant added, "They didn't want me back, and they tried everything in their power to make sure I did not get back and start working with Michael again. It really hurt because I would do anything for Michael."