James Brown - James Brown's Former Manager Sentenced To Home Confinement

David Cannon, 72, was accused of stealing a portion of a $900,000 (£562,500) cheque and also helping himself to nearly 15 per cent of the soul icon's annual earnings - far more than the five per cent he was entitled to, according to the Associated Press.

Protesting his innocence during an appearance in Aiken County Court in South Carolina on Thursday (27Oct11), he said, "James Brown was a very difficult man to do business with. He was the boss. I loved James Brown. I loved him like a brother, and he loved me. I know I respected him, and he respected me... I'd never take a dime from him."

However, Judge George C. James, Jr. found Cannon to be guilty of misappropriating the singer's finances and handed down the punishment, which includes five years probation.

The conviction is Cannon's latest legal woe - in 2009 he was sentenced to six months behind bars for failing to return $300,000 (£187,500) to the James Brown Enterprises.

Soul legend Brown died of congestive heart failure on Christmas Day, 2006.