Legal

Here are the faces of a Beverly Hills doctor and his girlfriend, who allegedly stole $52 MILLION in an elaborate scheme that preyed on sober living patients to bilk insurance companies.

Dr. Randy Rosen and his GF, Liza Vismanos, were arrested earlier this week and have been charged with a staggering amount of felonies in 2 separate cases connected to the alleged scheme.

Rosen's facing 88 felony counts in connection with recruiting and hiring numerous body brokers to find and pay patients to have medically unnecessary implant surgeries, cortisone shots and other medical testing and procedures ... according to the Orange County D.A.'s Office.

Vismanos is facing 56 felony counts as Rosen's alleged partner in the scheme. She's also the owner of the Lotus Laboratories in Los Alamitos, CA ... which Rosen allegedly used for unnecessary drug testing for his patients.

Four others have also been charged in connection with identifying and recruiting potential patients for the bogus medical procedures.

According to prosecutors ... several insurance companies were then billed for these unnecessary procedures, but not informed that patients were being trafficked and paid for these procedures. The D.A. claims the insurance companies were fraudulently billed approximately $600 million and paid out approximately $50 million.

OC D.A. Todd Spitzer says of the case ... "Vulnerable sober living patients who were trying desperately to battle their addictions were treated like human guinea pigs just to make a buck."

The Atlas Restaurant Group says there was nothing racist about refusing service to a black mother and her child for violating their dress code -- and it's offering what it calls "proof" ... but it's pretty thin.

As TMZ reported, Marcia Grant is taking legal action against the group for an incident last month at Ouzo Bay restaurant in Baltimore. Marcia and her 9-year-old son, Dallas, were turned away because of his athletic shorts, but Marcia spotted a white child who was dressed nearly identically enjoying a meal.

In response to Grant's accusations, Atlas -- the parent company of Ouzo Bay -- claims Dallas' shorts were, in fact, different from the white kid's.

Its explanation is the white kid was wearing "J. Crew 'khaki'” type shorts, with front and back pockets, a zipper, and button closure in front."

Beyond breaking down zippers and pockets ... Atlas is also playing what can best be described as the "I have Black friends" card.

Its released screen grabs from Ouzo's surveillance video showing other Black customers in the restaurant around the time Marcia and Dallas were denied.

As Atlas puts it, "Restaurant surveillance video throughout that same day at Ouzo Bay demonstrates that the customers of Ouzo Bay look exactly like the population of Baltimore City – diverse. Countless African-American patrons were welcomed into the restaurant that day to enjoy its food, atmosphere, and drinks."

That statement, of course, avoids the heart of Marcia's complaint ... that her son was treated differently from a white child in very similar clothing. Her only issue is with the manager's allegedly uneven application of the dress code.

Atlas claims her video of the encounter doesn't tell the whole story of what happened that day.

You'll remember ... Atlas immediately fired 2 employees following the incident, but claims the firings weren't because they discriminated against the family, but instead, "Atlas was not satisfied with the level of sensitivity, discretion, and judgment demonstrated by management on-duty at the time."

We had Marcia, Dallas and their attorney Donte Mills, on 'TMZ Live' this week to explain how Dallas has been affected, and how they're trying to make him understand ... he did nothing wrong.

Jay-Z and his social justice team are going all out to get a Wisconsin cop fired and charged in the killings of 3 men of color -- they've posted a full-page ad demanding it.

Jay's Team ROC took out the ad Thursday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, calling for the immediate prosecution and termination of police officer Joseph Mensah ... who has recently come to light for reportedly shooting and killing 3 men of color during police stops in Wauwatosa, WI within a 5-year span.

The ad -- an open letter to Milwaukee County DA John Chisholm -- starts with a simple question ... "how many more people must die at the hands of Officer Joseph Mensah?"

The letter goes on to name the men of color reportedly killed by Mensah -- Alvin Cole, Antonio Gonzales and Jay Anderson -- while describing his actions as "utter disregard" for their lives.

According to reports ... Mensah fired 8 times to kill Gonzales in 2015, unloaded 6 shots to kill Anderson in 2016 and shot Cole 5 times in February after he shouted “no gun.” He allegedly failed to administer CPR to the victims in each case, as well, and failed to engage his dash camera in 2 of the incidents.

There is dash cam footage of the most recent incident -- which resulted in the death of Cole, who was just 17 years old -- but it doesn't clearly reveal what happened.

Team ROC's letter goes on to question the Wauwatosa PD's reported failure to mandate body cams and preserve video evidence, before calling for the prosecution of Mensah "to ensure that he never kills anyone again."

The letter states there have been no other fatal shootings by the police dept. since Mensah joined the force in 2015, and asks ... "Doesn't that tell you something?"

Team ROC's demanding justice -- along with mandatory body cams for all cops -- and closes by stating ... "Nineteen shots and three deaths in five years are not a pattern of accidents."

Texas Tech wide receiver Caden Leggett was arrested over the weekend ... after cops rsay he was involved in an intricate street race on Texas highways.

The scene's description is straight out of a 'Fast & Furious' movie ... according to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Leggett and two others were speeding past each other at around 2 a.m. Saturday in Lubbock.

Cops say in the report Leggett was in a Mustang racing against a Dodge Challenger and another white vehicle ... when an officer caught them and tried to intervene.

According to the report, the cop was able to pull over Leggett ... but the other two got away.

In the report, cops say Leggett admitted to racing during questioning ... and say the 20-year-old's passenger revealed they were racing against another Texas Tech player, who was NOT identified in the report.

After searching Leggett's phone, cops say they found a map that appeared to be of a course throughout the city that the cars were trying to race on.

Leggett was eventually arrested and booked on a charge of misdemeanor racing on a highway. He was released on bond shortly after.

It's unclear if police are working to track down the other two alleged speeding drivers.

Christina Ricci has just filed for divorce from her husband after almost 7 years of marriage ... TMZ has learned.

The "Casper" and "Addams Family" star filed in L.A. County Superior Court Thursday morning to divorce film producer James Heerdegen, whom Ricci met in 2011 while they working on the set of the show, "Pan Am." They got married on October 26, 2013, in NYC.

Ricci cites irreconcilable differences as the reason why she wants to end the marriage. She's asking for sole legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old son, Freddie.

Our sources say there is no prenup but Christina was the main money earner. And, then there's this ... Ricci was granted an emergency protective order by cops after an altercation in which she claims James spit on her. The altercation went down exactly a week ago in her L.A. home.

Heerdegen, who was not arrested after the incident, has been ordered to stay away from Ricci.

Ricci's repped by attorney Samantha Spector in the divorce.

WNBA superstar Maya Moore -- who paused her hoops career to help free a wrongfully convicted man serving a 50-year prison sentence -- was able to watch him walk free on Wednesday ... and the video is powerful.

31-year-old Moore -- one of the greatest WNBA players EVER -- stepped away from the league in 2019 and 2020 to focus on social justice issues ... starting with freeing Jonathan Irons.

FYI, 40-year-old Irons was only 16 years old when he was convicted of burglary and assault in Missouri in 1998, despite no real evidence proving his guilt.

Moore has longed believed Irons is innocent -- and has spent the past 2 years providing tons of support in the hopes of bringing him home.

And, on Wednesday -- after his conviction was overturned and prosecutors said there would not be a retrial -- her dream became a reality.

Moore -- alongside Irons' family members -- watched Jonathan walk free from the Jefferson City Correctional Center in an emotional moment captured on video and posted to Instagram.

"I feel like I can live life now," said Irons -- who had served 22 years of his 50-year sentence. "I'm free, I'm blessed, I just want to live my life worthy of God's help and influence."

Moore spoke about Irons' release on "Good Morning America" on Thursday ... saying, "In that moment, I really felt like I could rest."

"I'd been standing, and we'd been standing, for so long .... and it was an unplanned moment where I just felt relief. It was kind of a worshipful moment, just dropping to my knees and just being so thankful that we made it."

Moore -- the #1 overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft -- is a 4-time WNBA champ and was named MVP in 2014.

A Miami-Dade County police officer is on video violently striking a woman in the face at the airport as she approached him during an argument ... he's claiming self-defense, but the brass ain't buyin' it.

According to the police report ... the cop, along with another officer, responded to a call of a disorderly customer at an American Airlines gate Tuesday at the Miami International Airport.

That customer -- the woman seen in the video -- was allegedly late to board her flight to Chicago so she was refused boarding and told to go to the rebooking counter. Cops say she became upset when she was told she'd have to wait until the next day and began threatening the AA employee, who called police.

The report says the 2 cops arrived to escort her away from American but advised her she could book a flight with a different airline, at which point she allegedly yelled more threats toward the AA employee ... this is roughly where the body cam video begins.

In the short clip ... you see the woman in a verbal argument with the officer, which quickly escalates as she walks toward him and asks, "What you gonna do?"

The cop steps back and without warning delivers a blow to her face, and she's quickly taken to the ground. As she's being arrested, you hear the officer say ... "She headbutted me!"

According to the police report ... the woman "aggressively approached" the cop and violated his personal space, then allegedly bumped him with her body and struck him "with her head on the chin." The cop claims he then hit her with an open-hand slap to the face. This is clearly NOT the way officials see it.

Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, Alfredo Ramirez III, has responded to the incident, saying ... "I am shocked and angered by a body cam video that I just saw involving one of our officers. I’ve immediately initiated an investigation and ordered that the involved officer be relieved of duty."

He adds ... "Actions such as these undermine the hard work that we have invested in our community and causes my heart to break for our community and for the vast majority of our officers who dedicate their lives to serving our County. This will not stand and I assure our community that any officer acting in this vain will be held to account."

Offset's got a few requests in his ongoing paternity case with one of his baby mamas ... and chief among them -- he wants their 4-year-old daughter to have his last name.

The Migos rapper filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in his case out of Fulton County, Georgia requesting that his daughter, Kalea, take Offset's last name. Offset's gov't name is Kiari Cephus. In docs, Offset says he's the biological father to Kalea, who was born in 2015.

The rapper's baby mama, Nicole Marie Algarin, named the girl Kalea Marie Algarin, but Offset's requesting the name be changed to Kalea Marie Algarin Cephus. There's more ... Offset is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their daughter.

As we first reported ... Nicole, who goes by the stage name Shya L'amour, filed docs last October asking for more child support from the rapper. Offset claims he is already paying support and says both parties should be financially responsible for their daughter.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have only one person to blame for the National Enquirer story about their romance, and it's her brother ... and the publication's laying out its paper trail.

Lauren's bro, Michael Sanchez, is suing the National Enquirer for libel ... because he denies he was the rat behind the story exposing their affair. But, the NE says not so fast, Ratatouille.

In new docs, the media outlet says Michael first contacted one of its reporters on Sept. 10, 2018, and then had subsequent conversations leading up to a face-to-face meeting on Oct. 5, 2018, where Michael revealed some text messages and pics ... but did NOT say it involved Bezos or his sister.

On Oct. 17, the reporter asked her bosses about financial parameters for a deal, and requested at least $300k. AMI, the Enquirer's parent company, says it was around this time they first found out Michael's information was about Bezos.

Then, according to docs, on Oct. 18 ... AMI and Sanchez signed a deal for $200k. The AMI honchos at the time -- Dylan Howard and James Robertson -- believe that is the most they'd paid a source for a story.

However, it wasn't until an NYC meeting on Oct. 23 -- between Michael, Howard and Robertson ... that AMI learned their canary was singing about his own sister. According to the docs, it was during this meeting Michael mentioned having a below-the-belt pic of Bezos ... sent to him by Lauren.

Worth noting, AMI says Michael told them in November ... Lauren and Jeff were not "in cooperation with him." He added, "Neither one have a clue."

Cut to January 2019 ... the Enquirer finally publishes the story, and Bezos goes nuts trying to find out their source. You'll recall, the Amazon honcho hired investigators and publicly theorized the Saudis might have hacked his phone and sold the info to AMI.

Also, according to the docs, Michael went on the record claiming the Enquirer called HIM first, simply trying to confirm the affair.

That's why AMI says it had to issue a press release defending itself and fingering Michael as its Tekashi6ix9ine, if you will. In the motion, AMI points out it would never have paid him $200k just to confirm information.

AMI is now asking the judge to toss Michael's lawsuit because they say they didn't lie about him being the source.

Kehlani rented a Ferrari and then smashed up the expensive sports car before returning it ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The singer is being sued by a luxury rental car company that claims she rented a Ferrari back in April, and said it was for personal use only -- but the company claims she used it in her new music video instead and ended up damaging the whip in a costly collision.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Kehlani rented the Ferrari on April 19 and on April 22 she crashed it into an animal or another object, causing nearly $25,000 worth of damage.

The docs claim the black Ferrari featured in Kehlani's music video for her track, "Open (Passionate)," is the one that was damaged.

According to the suit, the company says it lost over $1,000 a day while the Ferrari was being repaired. All told, it claims Kehlani caused them to lose more than $35k in potential rental fees.

Adding insult to auto-injury, the value of the exotic ride was reduced by $88,573.

The car rental company is going after Kehlani for damages ... and they want her driver's license suspended.

We reached out to Kehlani ... so far, radio silence.

Breonna Taylor's family is in the same corner as Beyonce's mom over photos of Kentucky's top prosecutor partying it up with his fiancee instead of drilling down in her case.

ICYMI ... photos surfaced over the weekend of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron hosting an engagement party with friends and loved ones -- something Bey's ma, Tina Lawson, jumped on and openly criticized on social media, along with several others.

She explained how Cameron's election to the AG office was initially seen as a boon for the black community -- but went on to say his inaction in the case proves otherwise, especially when it comes to Breonna's killing.

Tina writes, "I have no problem with who he marries, that is his personal business. That is not what this post is about! I just don’t understand his actions!!! And where are their masks?"

Sources close to the family tell us they couldn't agree more with Tina's sentiment ... they see these photos as a slap in the face.

We're told the family has its own team working round the clock for answers -- and while the AG said he too was doing the same, our sources say the family feels his actions prove otherwise. Even if the guy's got a team on it, we're told they see this as him not giving a damn.

And yes, as for Tina's claim that Cameron snubbed Breonna's mom ... we're told that's true. She tried meeting with him in early June, but he avoided her and had someone else from his office speak to her over the phone. We're told he hasn't provided any updates.

The latest news in Breonna's case ... one of the officers involved in her death, Brett Hankison, got canned from the Louisville PD. That's about it -- no criminal charges have been filed, and there's no telling if charges are forthcoming. The shooting occurred more than 3 months ago.

Now, Cameron has called for patience, as he's said he's vetting the case thoroughly -- but we're told Breonna's family has lost confidence in him bringing about justice.

Garrett Rolfe -- the fired Atlanta PD officer charged with felony murder for the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks -- might be released from jail Tuesday ... TMZ's live streaming his bond hearing.

Rolfe has been holed up at the Gwinnett County Jail in Georgia since his arrest, but will be appearing virtually at the Fulton County courthouse Tuesday to ask the judge to be let him out on bond. The hearing's scheduled for 11 AM PT.

According to legal docs ... Rolfe is asking to be granted a "reasonable bond" for a few reasons. First, he claims he's a "longstanding, law-abiding" citizen, and says he poses no threat to the public or potential witnesses.

Next, Rolfe claims there is "significant evidence that proves he was legally justified in using deadly force in this case." In the docs, Rolfe argues that Brooks committed multiple felonies "in resisting lawful arrest" -- including firing the TASER at him -- and Brooks' actions justified Rolfe's use of deadly force "if he reasonably believed that Mr. Brooks possessed a deadly weapon."

He claims the Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard "has declared that a TASER is a deadly weapon under Georgia law."

Finally, Rolfe argues he should be granted bond so he has an opportunity to help his lawyers prepare for the case, adding the D.A. "made several important factual misstatements to the public."

Rolfe's legal team is also expected to present character witnesses to testify that the former officer is a good man and will not present a flight risk. Some experts predict the judge will grant some sort of bond ... but at a steep price.

As we've reported ... Brooks was shot by Rolfe on the evening of June 12 during a chase in a Wendy's parking lot. Brooks had been speaking with Rolfe, along with officer Devin Brosnan, before Rolfe tried to arrest him and a struggle ensued.

Video of the incident shows Brooks had obtained one of the officers' Tasers and was attempting to flee following a failed breathalyzer test, and that's when Rolfe opened fire on him ... shooting him twice in the back.

Fulton County D.A. Howard announced 11 charges against Rolfe, including felony murder and multiple acts of aggravated assault.

While announcing the charges, Howard said Rolfe kicked Brooks while he lay dying, and added he doesn't believe Rolfe feared for his life ... noting that Rayshard had been cordial and cooperative for more than 41 minutes before he was fatally shot.

Brosnan's also been charged for his role in the incident -- with aggravated assault and failure to render timely aid ... something he and his lawyer have denied.

Here's Ron Jeremy's mug shot, which was released after the former adult film star was charged with sexually assaulting 4 women in West Hollywood.

As we reported ... last week, the L.A. County District Attorney charged Jeremy with 3 counts of forcible rape, 3 counts of forcible penetration by a foreign object, 1 count of sexual battery and 1 count of forcible oral copulation. The D.A. says the charges relate to 4 separate incidents involving 4 different women, dating all the way back to 2014.

Prosecutors say Ron allegedly attacked a 25-year-old woman at West Hollywood residence in 2014. Prosecutors also allege Ron of sexually assaulting 2 women on separate occasions at a WeHo bar in 2017, and claim he allegedly raped another woman at the same bar in July of last year.

Now, authorities say they are looking for more women who may have been victimized by Jeremy.

The African-American mom who was refused a table at a Baltimore restaurant says she's taking the joint to court, because its apology's coming up short.

Marcia Grant and her 9-year-old son, Dallas, came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to announce a forthcoming lawsuit against Atlas Restaurant Group -- the company that controls Ouzo Bay, which discriminated against them over a dress code that wasn't evenly applied ... based on Marcia's video.

You'll recall, Marcia pointed out there was a white kid wearing an almost identical outfit to Dallas' ... but, for some reason, he'd been allowed entry. She told us her son never experienced blatant racism like that, not first-hand.

Dallas told us how the whole experience made him feel, and it's heartbreaking.

Marcia, and her attorney, Donte Mills, explained how Dallas has been affected, and how they're trying to make him understand ... he did nothing wrong.

In that same breath, Donte says it point-blank ... they're moving forward with a lawsuit against Atlas Restaurant Group.

Donte says ARG's apology simply doesn't cut it -- as it fails to fully acknowledge the wrong that was done ... something Marcia echoed to us last week. The writing was on the wall for legal action.

Mr. Mills makes another interesting point here -- saying this situation could've easily gone left if cops were called and things escalated. That's another thing they're trying to make clear with their suit.

Marcia tells us what Dallas is doing now in the aftermath -- and it sounds like he and some friends are planning to speak out about the injustice he suffered.

Kylie Jenner's company is getting dragged into court ... all for allegedly refusing to guarantee it won't spill another company's secret formula to success.

Kylie's beauty brand, King Kylie, has been sued by Seed Beauty -- the company she's done business with since 2016 to help produce her unique line of products -- and they're claiming a mega-deal she recently struck with huge beauty conglomerate, Coty, is going to leave give all Seed's valuable tricks of the trade to a competitor.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Seed says they've been providing their valuable recipe to makeup success to Kylie and co. for years now -- which they claim helped catapult her (if only briefly) into billionaire status.

Her beauty boom, they claim, is largely due to Seed's trade secrets ... but now, they allege those are at risk of getting distributed to Coty ... their competition.

Of course, you already know Kylie signed an incredibly lucrative deal with Coty recently that gave up the majority stake in her company in exchange for $600 million.

Leading up to that agreement, Seed claims Kylie's company refused to sufficiently assure Seed it would NOT spill their trade secrets ... which Seed assumes Coty will use to boost the conglomerate. Because of that, Seed says it has no choice but to ask a judge to block Kylie and Coty from using the trade secrets.

Our beauty biz sources tell us there's no real "secret" to their success, it's the Kardashian/Jenner brand as a whole ... not to mention their hundreds of millions of followers across social media.

Huge day in court for Robert Kraft ... the State of Florida is trying to convince an appeals court to ALLOW graphic video shot from inside a Jupiter day spa to be used against Kraft in his sex acts case.

It's all happening right now -- and it's all being live streamed.

Remember, prosecutors say cops got a warrant to secretly install cameras inside the spa because they believed it was operating as a brothel ... and they wanted to catch criminal activity in the act.

Cops say they have footage of Kraft at the spa on 2 different occasions in 2019.

But, in a previous ruling, a judge ruled the video was NOT permissible because law enforcement did not do enough in their surveillance to protect innocent people who were inside the spa getting perfectly legal massages.

The State of Florida has appealed that decision -- and now a panel of judges in the Fourth District Court of Appeal (located in West Palm Beach) will decide if the previous ruling will stand.

Jeffrey DeSousa is representing the State of Florida. Derek Shaffer is representing Robert Kraft.

DeSousa claims the video of Kraft, specifically, was shot legally -- and prosecutors should be able to use the footage to prosecute him ... claiming its essentially a smoking gun.

As we previously reported, Kraft was busted back in Feb. 2019 after officials say a sting operation at a Jupiter, Fla. massage parlor revealed the New. England Patriots owner did illegally pay for sex acts on at least 2 occasions.

Originally, the video WAS to be allowed in the case ... but Kraft's dream team of attorneys successfully argued at a series of hearings last year it should not be permissible.