Michael Jackson's former producer and friend Tarak Ben Ammar has denounced the late pop icon's doctors as "criminals" and "charlatans" who took advantage of his hypochondria.
"It's clear that the criminals in this affair are the doctors who treated him throughout his career, who destroyed his face, who gave him medicine to ease his pain," he told France's Europe 1 radio on Friday.
"He was a hypochondriac and one never really knew if he was sick because he had become surrounded by charlatan doctors who were billing him thousands and thousands of dollars worth of drugs, vitamins...," said the Tunisian producer.
He said he believed Jackson, who he said regularly took sleeping pills, had died of a heart attack "because he was taking all sorts of medicines", but he insisted that he had never seen him take illegal drugs.
"He ate badly, he didn't have a very healthy life, he couldn't do sport," said Ben Ammar.
Questions have been raised over who will take long term care of his three children Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket.
Debbie Rowe, the mother of Prince Michael and Paris and Jackson's second wife, is expected to receive initial custody of them until long term arrangements are made.
Jackson suffered an ultimately fatal heart attack at his Los Angeles home early this morning after being injected with the potent painkiller Demerol, according to a report.
The 50-year-old pop icon, who was pronounced dead at 7.26am (AEST) Friday, was said to be addicted to the drug, British tabloid The Sun reports.
Demerol, also known as Pethidine, is a fast-acting painkiller that can be used as an alternative to morphine.
Jackson's addiction had been making it difficult for him to meet rehearsal commitments for his 50-concert comeback tour of Britain, according to reports in the media last month.
The star made only two of the more than 45 rehearsals because he was "just not able to pick himself up out of the drug stupor" he was in, a family source was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail newspaper.
Jackson's personal doctor was with him when he collapsed at his rented Bel Air mansion about 5am (AEST) . The 911 call message relayed to paramedics read: "50-year-old male. Not breathing at all".
When ambulance officers arrived, Jackson had no pulse and could not be revived.
Emergency doctors at UCLA Medical Centre tried for more than an hour to resuscitate the star after he was brought in, but he never regained consciousness.
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Jermaine Jackson struggled to remain composed as he read a short statement to a crowded press conference at the hospital three hours after his brother's death.
"My brother, the King of Pop Michael Jackson, is believed to have suffered cardiac arrest but the formal cause of death will not be known until his autopsy," Jackson said.
"[Michael's] personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate my brother. As did the paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre," Jackson said.
"Upon arriving at the hospital, at approximately 1.14pm (6.14am AEST), a team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him. For periods of more than one hour. They were unsuccessful," he said.
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There was "absolute chaos" inside the hospital when the 50-year-old star was brought in in a deep coma, according to US gossip website TMZ.com.
"You've got to save him! You've got to save him!" people with Jackson were said to have screamed.
Outside the medical centre, large crowds of shocked fans and media began gathering as the first reports of the star's heart attack surfaced. (Watch more: Fans swamp hospital )
More and more people arrived and the area was blocked to traffic as news of the star's eventual death spread.
Fans had also flocked to Jackson's rented home in Bel Air, talking photographs of the property's wrought iron gates.
Lana Brown, a 49-year-old tourist from Dallas, broke down in tears as she digested the news.
"Right today I can't believe we might have lost the best entertainer this world has ever seen," she said.
Music legend Quincy Jones, who produced Jackson's 'Thriller' — the top-selling album of all time — said part of his soul had died with Jackson.
"To this day, the music we created together on 'Off The Wall', 'Thriller' and 'Bad' is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all ... talent, grace, professionalism and dedication." (Read more: King of controversy)
Madonna revealed she was left in tears over Jackson's death, saying the music world had lost "one of the greats".
"I can't stop crying over the sad news," the pop diva said.
"I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless."
As tributes flowed, a lawyer for the Jackson family compared Michael’s case to the drug overdose death of Playboy centrefold Anna-Nicole Smith.
Brian Oxman told CNN that Jackson, who fought long-running battles with prescription medication throughout his career, was taking prescription drugs after suffering injuries during training for his London comeback tour.
Oxman said he had harboured concerns about Jackson's use of drugs, saying members of the star's entourage were "enablers".
"This is not something that has been unexpected ... because of the medications which Michael was under," Oxman said.
"The people who have surrounded him have been enabling him... if you think that the case of Anna-Nicole Smith was an abuse, it was nothing to what we have seen in Michael Jackson's life.
"I do not know the extent of the medications that he was taking but the reports we had been receiving in the family is that they were extensive," Oxman added.
"When you warn people that this is what's going to happen and then it happens — where there's smoke there's fire."
Jackson died as he prepared to make a keenly anticipated concert comeback in London, his first series of shows in more than a decade and the first since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.
However those concerts — billed as the "final curtain" — had been thrown into doubt after Jackson pushed back the opening dates last month.
Organisers of the concerts had stressed the delay was not linked to Jackson's health.
Promoters and producers AEG Live said the rescheduling was done because of the "sheer magnitude" of the show and the desire for fans attending the opening nights to get the same experience planned for all 50 shows.
In a press conference from the United States broadcast over the internet, AEG Live president Randy Phillips was asked about Jackson's health and said: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape."
While Jackson reigned as the King of Pop in the 1980s, his once-stellar career had been overshadowed by his colourful public behaviour, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.
Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.
Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar struggled to recover.
Four years later, Jackson is still worshipped by fans for revolutionising music, dance and music videos at the peak of his success.
The attention however paid to him in recent years has been less flattering, focusing on apparent cosmetic surgery — which he denied — his baby dangling antics and a decade of swirling child abuse allegations.
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