Lawsuit against Ricky Martin: the Puerto Rican superstar sues his nephew

San Juan, Puerto Rico –

Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin filed a lawsuit against his nephew on Wednesday accusing him of extortion, malicious persecution, abuse of rights and damages stemming from false allegations of sexual abuse.

Martin’s attorneys said the nephew’s claim, which he has since contested, cost the singer millions of dollars in lost earnings.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. Territory Magistrate’s Court alleges that Martin was « persecuted, besieged, harassed, hounded and extorted » by his « troubled » nephew for economic reasons. He further alleges that if the nephew did not obtain any financial benefit, he would continue to « murder the reputation and integrity of the artist ».

The lawsuit argues that the harassment continued even though Martin’s nephew, identified as Dennis Yadiel Sanchez Martin, admitted under oath in July that he had never been sexually assaulted by the entertainer.

Sanchez had previously filed a lawsuit against his uncle based on the false allegations, prompting a Puerto Rican judge to issue a restraining order against Martin in July, which a court later stayed.

Those allegations cost Martin at least $10 million in lost revenue from canceled contracts and projects, as well as $20 million in damage to his reputation, according to the lawsuit.

The attorney representing Sanchez in the case could not immediately be reached for comment. It was unclear whether she would also represent Sanchez in the lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The lawsuit said that from October 2021 to January 2022, Sanchez would send Martin up to 10 messages a day, the majority of them « meaningless rants with no particular purpose. »

He also accused Sanchez of posting Martin’s private number on Instagram, which caused the singer to change his number.

Several months then passed without Sanchez sending a message until he filed for the protective order in July against Martin, according to the lawsuit.

He also said that Sanchez falsely alleged that he had been romantically involved with Martin for seven months and that Martin supposedly did not want the relationship to end and continued to call Sanchez frequently.

“Nothing further from the truth,” according to the lawsuit.

He also said two restraining orders had already been filed against Sanchez in an unrelated harassment case.