The heir to the digger company JCB has failed in an attempt to take control of a business run by his former best friend after a bitter US courtroom battle that included lurid allegations about personal conduct – and even revealed an apparent attempt to buy Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch.
Jo Bamford, a grandson of the JCB founder, sued Joseph Manheim last year in Delaware, claiming that his former friend had “surreptitiously” taken control of a company they set up to help wealthy, mainly Chinese, investors get residence in the US. Bamford, 44, a self-styled “green entrepreneur”, claimed Manheim secretly siphoned millions of dollars from the business and Bamford sought damages of $13.8m.
The court case revealed suspicious conducts from Bamford and his friends, in business but also in different personal matters.
The trial gave a rare insight into the world of the super-rich. Bamford was described as a collector of classic Ferraris, and rare pheasants, and he admitted ordering cannabis using a work email.
The trial also revealed a previously unreported plan by Bamford to buy the Neverland ranch once owned by Michael Jackson. The purported plan for Bamford to buy the 1092-hectare (2,700 acres) site was discussed in 2013, the court papers show.
During cross-examination, Bamford’s lawyer asked Manheim about “Project Peter Pan”. Manheim responded by asking whether she was referring to the “buying the Michael Jackson ranch thing”. Emails referred to in the trial suggest that Bamford got to the stage of assessing non-disclosure agreements related to a potential sale. It is unclear how far Bamford progressed with a potential purchase, and his lawyers did not respond to questions about it.
We are glad that Bamford never was able to purchase Neverland Ranch.
