Charity Raises Funds Through Disputed Michael Jackson Ties
August 12, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
A charity with the same name as a now-defunct nonprofit group founded by Michael Jackson has been raising money from fans of the pop singer who have to flocked to the group’s Web site since his death in June, CBS News reports.
Mr. Jackson’s Heal the World Foundation officially shut down in 2004. A California woman, Melissa Johnson, founded a new Heal the World Foundation in 2008 and received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service in January. In July, Ms. Johnson applied for the trademark “Michael Jackson Heal the World Foundation,” and the new group’s Web site and Twitter page prominently feature the late pop star.
The organization raised about $6,200 through PayPal donations in the month following Mr. Jackson’s death.
A spokesman for John Branca, the special administrator for Mr. Jackson’s estate, said the estate “has no connection whatsoever to the ‘Heal the World Foundation’ run by Melissa Johnson.” Ms. Johnson told CBS she had worked closely for years with previous members of Mr. Jackson’s management.
