CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Craig Carton is adamant he's not the scumbag con artist he's being made out to be -- claiming he's an innocent victim who was set up by a group of very bad people.

Carton was arrested by the FBI this week and accused of running a multi-million dollar concert ticket scam to pay back millions of dollars in debts to various casinos.

But a rep for the sports radio star says he's NOT A BAD GUY -- the feds simply have a "gross misunderstanding of what happened."

A rep for Carton didn't provide too many details about his defense -- but would only say he's not going down without a fight.

“The government’s allegations against Craig Carton demonstrate a gross misunderstanding of what happened."

"Craig is a victim who was deceived, manipulated and used by individuals seeking to gather assets for their own fraudulent schemes."

Rick Ross has no business blurting "Maybach Music" on any of his tracks, because he stole it ... so says a rapper threatening to sue Da Boss.

Ishaq Muhammad -- aka Young Muhammad -- fired off a threatening letter to Rick's legal team claiming Rick's use of the phrase "Maybach Music" is a rip-off of Muhammad's "Caprice Music" ... which Muhammad says he trademarked in 2006 ... long before Rick started saying his slogan.

So it seems ... Y.M.'s gripe is that Caprice is a type of car, and Rick just slapped his car of choice on the slogan. As you know, Rick kicks off every track with a woman who purrs the words, "Maybach music."

Muhammad says he'll slap Rick with a lawsuit and demand a cut of his profits if he doesn't back off.

We've reached out to Rick Ross' camp, so far no word back.

Someone is trying to drag down One Direction over its song, "Drag Me Down," claiming the group pilfered the tune.

Amir Shaheed-Edwards, who goes by the stage name Bravo, claims the group ripped off his song, "All My Life."

Bravo says he recorded the song in 2015 and released it on SoundCloud. 1D's song was also released in 2015.

Bravo has now sued, claiming the 2 songs are "essentially identical." He does not give examples of the similarities in the lawsuit.

He's suing Syco Entertainment, which produced 1D, for damages and he wants the company to stop selling the song.

Talk about timing ... just days after Ezekiel Elliott had his 6-game suspension upheld, the NFL has circled back to Josh Brown -- banning the admitted domestic abuser 6 more games.

The veteran kicker sat out 1 game in 2016 ... after a lengthy investigation ultimately led to his release from the NY Giants.

The big difference from Zeke -- Brown has accepted his punishment, the NFL told Adam Schefter.

"We reopened the investigation based on new info ... concluded there was a violation of our personal conduct policy and imposed 6-game suspension which he accepted without appeal," the league said.

"Timing has nothing to do with Zeke ... made no sense to hold this until Zeke was complete.”

Brown -- who's currently UNEMPLOYED -- maintains that he never hit his wife ... after being arrested in May 2015 on suspicion of domestic assault. Charges were never filed.

As for Elliott ... the Dallas Cowboys superstar is hoping to hear from a U.S. District Court judge today in Texas. The RB -- who is slated to play in Week 1 -- is seeking a temporary restraining order so he can keep suiting up.

One of Floyd Mayweather's giant TMT members roughed up a fan as the boxer left a famous chicken joint in Hollywood -- and now police are involved ... TMZ Sports has learned.

It all went down outside the legendary Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles on Wednesday evening -- where Floyd and his massive TMT entourage had dinner around 8 PM.

On his way out, Floyd was approached by a 20-year-old man in a white shirt and glasses who asked Floyd and his crew if he could take a quick photo.

That's when one of Floyd's guys -- a big dude in a red shirt -- rushed to the fan, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against a wall.

(FYI, that same TMT entourage member was with Floyd during a shopping trip in Bev Hills earlier in the day and was sure acting like a member of the security team).

After the video ends, we're told Floyd's crew put the boxer in the car and bolted.

The man -- who claims he was also punched in the face -- filed a police report and told cops he suffered injuries to his head, neck and mouth.

We spoke to the victim who says he is (was) a HUGE Floyd fan and just wanted a pic -- he wasn't trying to start any trouble.

Sources connected to Floyd's camp tell us the man in the red shirt is "not on the payroll" -- he's just with the entourage.

Madonna's obsessed fan is about to go to trial against NYC, but he's counting on the city folding and handing him millions before it comes to that.

Robert Linhart -- who was busted for camping out in front of Madonna's pad and refusing to leave -- is suing the city, claiming NYPD officers roughed him up during the arrest. He originally wanted $5 million, but now says he'll settle for $3 mil.

It's coming down to the wire ... jury selection's scheduled to start Monday, but Linhart and his attorney, Peter Gleason, are still confident prosecutors will make an offer. Linhart claims he'll donate $1 mil of the settlement to hurricane victims.

We're guessing prosecutors don't give a crap about his benevolence, but the clock is ticking.

Bad boy and convicted felon Martin Shkreli may be heading to jail way sooner than he thought, because the United States government wants to put him behind bars NOW, after threatening Hillary Clinton.

The Justice Dept. just filed docs, obtained by TMZ, which states Shkreli, who is out on $5 million bail pending sentencing for securities fraud, has engaged in a "pattern of threats and harassment that warrant his detention pending sentencing." Government lawyers want his bail revoked, NOW.

The last straw was Shkreli offering $5,000 to anyone who would "grab" some of Clinton's hair during her book tour. Government lawyers say Shkreli has a huge social media following who would take the challenge seriously, and as a result the Secret Service has been spending money and using resources to deal with the threat.

The lawyers also note Shkreli has harassed 2 women, notably a journalist who shunned him, to which he responded on Twitter, "If I'm acquitted I get to f*** Lauren Duca."

Mike Epps is officially a single man, but it's gonna cost him.

A judge just signed off on his divorce from Mechelle McCain Epps, his wife of 12 years, and the property settlement shows just how rich they are.

Mike walks away with 10 -- count them -- 10 properties in Indiana. He keeps his 2016 Mercedes, his 2015 Jeep Cherokee, '79 Caddy and 2011 Suzuki chopper.

Now the pain.

Epps pays Mechelle $25k a month in spousal support for a total of 6 1/2 years, but if she remarries he stops paying. He also has to pay $15k a month in support for their 2 children. He's also footing the bill for their private school.

And Mike and Mechelle split royalties from his numerous movie and TV roles, including "The Hangover," "Hancock" and "Girl Trip."

Mechelle walks away with a small fleet of cars herself, including a 2014 Bentley, 2013 Mercedes, 2015 Toyota Prius and a 2013 Land Rover.

The couple will sell their family home in Encino and split the profits.

"America's Got Talent" champ Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won't face charges at this time for allegedly hitting his baby mama with a golf club ... TMZ has learned.

The domestic violence case against the season 6 winner of 'AGT' was dismissed without prejudice Wednesday ... meaning the case could still be reopened pending further investigation and discussions with the victim.

As we reported ... Landau was arrested in July for misdemeanor domestic battery and assault after an alleged brawl with his GF at the time, and was accused of striking her under her eye with a club.

Murphy says he is no longer in a relationship with the woman, but the 2 have a child to raise and "we both want our son to realize that his parents love him."

Usher just fired back at the 2 women and a man who claimed he exposed them to genital herpes ... and he says it's all BS.

Usher's legal team just filed a response to the California herpes lawsuit. He denies everything ... specifically, their claims he had sexual contact with them, and the claim he exposed them to herpes.

One of the women, Quantasia Sharpton, said in a news conference with her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, she did not contract herpes when she allegedly had sex with him after celebrating her 19th birthday at an Usher concert ... but she claims he exposed her to the STD.

Usher, through his lawyers Laura Wasser and Zia Modabber, also raises an interesting argument ... the 3 plaintiffs can't win because they have "unclean hands." That means he's alleging they did something wrong, although he's not specific.

And there's this ... Usher claims the 2 women and the man don't have a legal claim because anything Usher might have done was unintentional. The intimation ... if he had herpes, he didn't know it at the time.

Boomer Esiason is backing Craig Carton after his longtime co-host's FBI arrest ... saying he's still got love for the sports radio personality despite the "shocking" news.

“I’ve loved my partner for 10 years and I still love my partner,” Boomer said on WFAN Thursday.

“I loved his family, loved his kids and I am praying every single day ... there’s nothing worse than having a family going through what they have to go through.”

Boomer added that he's been blown away by the support he's received since Carton's alleged ticket fraud scheme came to light ... but you can tell the NFL legend's still pretty emotional about it.

Esiason also confirmed that Carton's indefinitely suspended ... and says he'll continue bringing in different guests to fill his seat. On Thursday, Phil Simms was subbing in.

Chargers star lineman Russell Okung is calling out NFL owners, telling TMZ Sports it's high time they get involved in social issues that affect the players' lives, and stop sitting on the sidelines.

Okung's good friend, Michael Bennett, has accused the Las Vegas Metro PD of racial profiling and excessive force for an incident after the McGregor fight, though Okung says Bennett will be just fine.

"I know he's an overcomer, he'll get past this."

What Russell seemed more concerned with was how to address the real and perceived social inequalities that lead to situations like Bennett's ... and he called on the NFL owners to help.

"We definitely need people to get away from the neutrality of it, I think our owners really need to address what's going on and discuss the issues and how we can move on from them."

BTW -- We got Russell out while his Chargers teammates were doing a food drive for the people of Houston ... NFL players certainly seem to be stepping up these days.

Mel B's estranged husband, Stephen Belafonte, and their former nanny, Lorraine Gilles, engineered a phony marriage for Gilles so she would not be deported, which would allow the 2 to carry on an affair behind Mel B's back and rob her blind ... this according to explosive new legal docs.

Mel B just filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in which she lays out the sordid scenario. You'll recall, Gilles has said they had 3-ways but she never had sex alone with Belafonte. The docs include a portion of Gilles deposition, in which she admits she had sex with Belafonte alone 10 to 15 times.

Gilles also admits she had sex with Belafonte at least twice around the time she got pregnant and had an abortion. She has denied it was Belafonte's child but the depo calls that into question.

Mel B also says Gilles marriage to Michael Bleau was a sham ... designed to keep the nanny in the country. Mel B includes Bleau's deposition, in which he admits he bought the engagement ring for $30 on eBay. Gilles and Bleau never posted a single pic of their engagement on their Facebook pages.

And there's more. In Gilles depo, she admits to using cocaine. Immigration officials can deny a visa for someone who uses illegal drugs, so this could have deportation implications. In the depo Gilles says she only used coke supplied by Mel B.

And on the subject of sex tapes -- which Mel B says Belafonte and Gilles used to blackmail her -- Gilles admits in her deposition they not only exist, but she watched them as recently as July 2016 on Belafonte's laptop.

Gucci Mane not only has a bride-to-be, he also has his s*** together -- so a judge is letting him off probation 2 years ahead of schedule.

Gucci's lawyers filed docs in Atlanta asking the judge to end the rapper's supervised release early because he's shown a "wonderful attitude" and "exceeded all expectations." The judge agreed.

As we reported ... Gucci was arrested in 2013 for violating probation by carrying a gun. He was released from prison 4 months early in May 2016, served 4 months of house arrest before going on supervised release. That will all end officially on Sept. 19.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says he's thankful Michael Bennett is safe after a "horrendous" incident with police in Vegas ... and made it clear the entire Seahawks organization is supporting their star player.

Carroll just addressed the media after Seahawks practice and said Bennett "unfortunately experienced a horrendous incident" in Vegas ... "and we're thankful that he's safe."

Carroll noted, "We stand in support of him and anyone facing inequalities."

"What happened with Michael is a classic illustration of the reality of inequalities demonstrated daily."

Craig Carton's partner in an alleged ticket fraud scheme was so concerned about the million in debt they allegedly owed ... he considered fleeing the country and assuming a new identity.

At least, that's what investigators say they learned during a criminal probe into the famous radio host -- who allegedly bilked investors out of millions of dollars to repay casino debts.

As we previously reported, Carton -- one-half of the famous "Boomer and Carton Show" -- was arrested by FBI agents early Wednesday morning.

Officials say he and another man concocted and executed a ponzi-style scheme to take millions of dollars from investors under the guise of a ticket scalping business. Only, the money was allegedly used to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars in mysterious personal debts ... which appear to be related to gambling.

The docs, filed in federal court in NY, don't specifically say Carton blew the money gambling ... but alleges he made several HUGE wire transfers to casino companies using money that was supposed to be used for the ticket business.

At one point, Carton's alleged co-conspirator fired off an email to Carton with the following proposal to escape their debts -- "Run to Costa Rica, change name, and start life all over again."

The other man noted, "May not be an option."

Officials say Carton didn't seem too fazed -- assuring the other man he had another $1 million coming in from investors and "will need to be discussed how to handle."