Sophia Michaels
Ricky Martin has filed a hardline $30 million extortion lawsuit against the “maladjusted” nephew who publicly accused the superstar musician of sex abuse before withdrawing the claims under oath in July.
In the new eight-page complaint obtained by Rolling Stone, Martin and his lawyer say the nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin, has continued to harass the “Livin’ la Vida Loca” singer with Instagram messages sent as recently as Aug 14.
“Uncle I need your help,” one of the recent messages reads, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“Defendant Sánchez has threatened and extorted [Martin] that, unless he is economically compensated, he will continue with his campaign to assassinate his reputation and integrity, through false and malicious imputations,” the lawsuit signed by Martin’s lawyer Dora L. Monserrate Peñagarícano alleges.
The complaint says Sánchez’s false allegations claiming that Martin sexually assaulted him — allegations he voluntarily dropped at a July hearing — caused Martin to suffer at least $10 million worth of economic damages and an additional $20 million worth of damage to his “previously impeccable reputation earned through his long artistic and altruistic career.”
According to the complaint, Sánchez’s “reckeless” actions caused Martin to have multimillion dollar contracts, as well as present and future contracts cancelled.
The lawsuit states claims for extortion, malicious prosection and abuse of rights.
It identifies Sánchez as the son of Martin’s sister and claims that before Sánchez made his claims of sex abuse, he had been making statements “totally disconnected from reality” and had tried to gain access to Martin’s own children.
When a “dismayed” Martin started to ignore his distressing messages, Sánchez allegedly published Martins personal cell phone number on social media and then sought a bogus protective order claiming Martin had abused him.
“In his request for the protective order, defendant Sánchez falsely alleged that [Martin] had had a romantic relationship with [him] for seven months and that it had ended two months prior. Her further claimed that [Martin] did not accept that the alleged relationship ended and that [Martin] called him frequently,” the lawsuit states.
Sánchez further alleged that he feared for his safety and claimed that he had seen Martin “prowling” around his residence. At the time, Martin was residing “uninterrupted” in California, thousands of miles away, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says Sánchez’s actions have caused Martin and his family to fear for their own safety, especially in Puerto Rico.”
Martin is asking the court to order that Sánchez “immediately refrain from communicating” with him and his family in any way.
