Legal

Jake Paul says he knows exactly why the FBI raided his home and, for now at least, he doesn't seem too concerned -- but he is making some changes to his inner circle.

The YouTube star posted a vid imploring his fans to ignore rumors about him being in serious legal trouble after the feds showed up in force at his Calabasas crib. Jake says it's only an "investigation" related to his trespassing case in Arizona.

Remember, he was cited a couple months ago during looting that went down at a Scottsdale mall. However, Jake did point a finger at someone close to him in the video ... which he's since deleted.

Watch what he says about someone close to him "doing malicious things." He's hinting he caught a now former friend talking crap about him after the raid, but says he's handled the situation.

Truth is, JP did look pretty unworried about the case Wednesday as he took his Golden Retriever for a stroll around his neighborhood. The duo was joined by Jake's ex-GF -- and fake wife -- Tana Mongeau.

The 2 were playing it COVID safe with their masks on, but it looks like the pooch kept his face covering around his neck ... in favor of a mouthful of the leash.

We're told Jake seemed to be in good spirits following last week's intense scene ... and even greeted the photogs and chatted them up about his upcoming boxing match.

As we told you ... Jake's not backing out of his boxing match with NBA star Nate Robinson despite the mysterious FBI investigation surrounding him, and has been focused on training to take his mind off the ordeal.

This could be a bad look for R. Kelly -- 3 of his alleged acquaintances have been charged with harassing witnesses in his criminal case ... but the singer claims he had no involvement.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday Richard Arline, Donnell Russell and Michael Williams were arrested and charged for allegedly intimidating witnesses in the disgraced singer's racketeering case in NYC.

Prosecutors allege Arline -- a self-proclaimed friend of R. Kelly -- offered $500k to an alleged victim in exchange for her to NOT cooperate with prosecutors. Russell -- a self-described manager, advisor and friend of Kelly -- allegedly threatened to reveal sexually explicit pics of an alleged victim and publicly reveal her sexual history if she didn't withdraw her civil suit.

And get this, prosecutors claim Williams -- a relative of someone who once served as Kelly's publicist -- set fire to an SUV parked outside the Florida residence where an alleged victim was staying back in June.

Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme released a statement, saying...“The defendants are separately charged with engaging in multiple crimes that were intended to undermine and subvert the integrity of the criminal justice system and victimize the women who have come forward with serious allegations of criminal conduct against the defendant R. Kelly."

Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ ... his team just learned about these charges against Kelly's so-called "associates." He says, "Without question, Robert Kelly had nothing to do with any of these alleged acts by those charged. He has not attempted to intimidate anyone, or encouraged anyone else to do so. No involvement whatsoever."

Kurt Cobain rarely ever signed his full name to anything which is why a signed home insurance policy is making for a very rare, yet macabre auction item.

The folks over at Goldin Auctions are brokering the sale of this super-rare document featuring the late Nirvana frontman's full signature -- Kurt D. Cobain. He usually signed his name simply Kurt. The Chase Bank insurance company letter is dated 74 days before the guitarist was found dead in his Seattle home.

Yes, the policy was for that house ... where Kurt killed himself on April 8, 1994.

Kurt owned that home for just a couple of months before his untimely death. As rock historians know, this is where he went shortly after fleeing rehab in California to begin a drug binge that ended with Kurt's suicide by a 20-gauge shotgun.

The auction lot-- currently owned by Inscriptagraphs Memorabilia and expected to fetch over $100k -- also includes original photos of what the house looked like before portions of the house burned down in a fire.

We're told the memorabilia company plans to give a portion of their proceeds to a suicide prevention organization.

Goldin Auctions describes this auction as "insanely rare" ... and it comes on the heels of last month's record-setting item.

Ty Ruff, famous for competing on a bunch of MTV reality shows, got busted for DUI in Los Angeles early Tuesday morning ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops pulled over Ty around 2:30 AM after officers say they observed his 2011 Mercedes Benz swerving over traffic lines and doing about 20 MPH over the posted speed limit.

Our sources say Ty bombed field sobriety tests and was well over the legal limit with a 0.12 BAC. He was arrested for misdemeanor DUI, and released without bail a few hours later.

Danica Dow's days on "Vanderpump Rules" are numbered, IF her costars get a say -- they want her out due to allegations she got violent with an ex-BF ... TMZ has learned.

Sources on the show tell us a majority of the cast -- including longtime stars on the series -- think Danica's potentially dangerous and more trouble than she's worth after the court drama between her and Brett Willis, this past week.

We're told other members of the cast have seen volatile behavior from her that makes them think Brett's allegations could be true. Specifically, our sources say she was seen pushing Brett while they were working at SUR and shooting season 8 of 'VR.'

We're told cutting Danica out now wouldn't hurt any storylines -- she was a new character this year and wasn't playing into the bulk of drama.

It's unclear what producers are thinking about Danica or Brett's fate on the show. He's also been a very minor character who was only introduced through Danica.

As we reported ... Brett ran to court last week claiming multiple instances of Danica allegedly using violence upon him, including clawing up his neck, biting his arm and ripping his clothes. On the flip side, she alleged he broke into her house to damage her belongings.

Judges signed off on both of their requests to have the other stay away from each other -- but it sounds like the 'VR' cast is believing him more than her.

The family of Elijah McClain is going after the city of Aurora and 13 of its police officers, claiming they're all to blame for his 2019 death.

McClain's parents just filed the lawsuit in Colorado claiming the city, the cops, a paramedic, and a doctor should be held responsible for the August 24, 2019 fatal incident based on their "needless use of excessive force and torture."

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the family says Elijah was listening to music on a short walk home from the corner store "when Aurora police officers grabbed, tackled, and assaulted him."

In the lawsuit, they claim officers "continued to brutalize Elijah for nearly eighteen minutes—approximately fifteen minutes of which he was handcuffed." They also allege the force the officers used against Elijah included "compressing his neck and the blood flow to his brain with two consecutive carotid holds, cranking his left shoulder with an armbar hammerlock that caused it to repeatedly pop."

Describing the arrest even further ... the family claims Elijah vomited after they slammed him to the ground. According to the docs, another officer allegedly "jammed his knee into Elijah's arm for minutes on end" with the sole purpose of inflicting pain and eventually separating Elijah's biceps and triceps muscles.

Then the paramedics arrived, but the family claims things only got worse. In the suit, they claim an EMT "involuntarily injected him with a massive dose of ketamine" even though he was not experiencing any medical condition that would have required ketamine ... a powerful sedative.

Minutes after they injected him with the sedative, Elijah stopped breathing, had no pulse and never regained consciousness before dying a few days later.

As we reported ... Aurora PD officers stopped Elijah while responding to a call about a suspicious person walking the streets wearing a ski mask and waving his arms. His family had previously said he commonly wore the mask to keep warm.

Body-camera footage of the incident shows Elijah telling the cops, "Let go of me. I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking." His final words -- documented at the beginning of the lawsuit from start to finish -- popped up on social media posts demanding justice.

The parent of the 8-year-old kid who was arrested in Key West two years ago is now going after the school and the city, claiming the boy -- who already had serious psychological issues -- was all but destroyed by the incident.

Bianca Digennaro just filed a suit on behalf of her child -- who's only identified by his initials, HMM -- claiming her son was subjected to humiliation, embarrassment and psychological damage that manifested itself physically ... which she says could scar him permanently.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Digennaro says school officials should never have called the police, because school officials knew HMM had serious issues, including Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Adjustment Disorder and ADHD.

What happened to cause police to come did not justify trying to cuff the boy and arrest him. The mom says HMM refused to sit on a bench the way the teacher wanted. The teacher grabbed the boy and he implored her to take her hands off him. When she didn't, he punched her once in the chest. She was not injured, and HMM became remorseful and upset.

Nevertheless ... cops tried to scare the boy straight by telling him he was going to jail. The suit claims there was no justification for even calling the cops, since mental issues were the root cause of the problem, yet they still treated him like a criminal.

The kid's mother goes on to say that the psychological trauma of the incident caused her son to experience loss of breath, hives, stomach and head aches, nightmares, insomnia and inability to sleep alone in the aftermath of his run-in with cops. Her suit claims excessive force, ADA violations and failure to train officers properly.

The guy accused of shooting at Lil Wayne's bus in 2015 has copped a pretty sweet plea deal ... but we're told he's not getting out of jail just yet.

Jimmy Winfrey has pled guilty to 2 counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act ... this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ. As part of the deal, prosecutors have dropped a slew of other charges -- 4 counts of violation of the RICO Act, 6 other counts of violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, 12 counts of aggravated assault, 2 counts of criminal damage to property in the first degree and 1 count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

He was sentenced to 7 years in prison ... a much lighter sentence than what he got in 2015, when the judge threw the book at him with a 20-year sentence. The Georgia Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2018 and so the case went back to square 1.

And, get this ... Winfrey got credit for time served and set to be released, but Winfrey's lawyer, Steve Sadow, tells TMZ ... the reason his client hasn't been released involves an unrelated outstanding warrants case. Sadow wants to be clear ... Winfrey entered a special kind of guilty plea where his client maintains his innocence, despite pleading guilty.

As part of the sentence, he's also gotta pay $100k in restitution to Alvin Lewis, the bus driver.

TMZ broke the story ... Alvin accused Birdman and Young Thug of striking secret deals with prosecutors in the case. Alvin had said he found it unusual Cobb County prosecutors described Birdman and YT as co-conspirators in the alleged shooter's indictment but did NOT bring charges against them.

Alvin made no bones about it ... he claimed there was overwhelming evidence of complicity among Winfrey, Birdman and Young Thug ... evidence that includes phone records, recorded confessions, and promises of payment.

Sources close to Birdman had told us the rapper denied any involvement in the case. Young Thug has never commented publicly on the incident.

The family of Don Lewis -- Carole Baskin's millionaire husband who went missing in 1997, whose story was featured on 'Tiger King' -- is going all out to find out what happened to him ... including putting up billboards and offering a $100k reward.

Don's 3 daughters, alongside attorney John Phillips and family spokesperson Jack Smith, announced a series of steps currently in place to get more info on his disappearance ... which occurred on August 18, 1997, after Don left his Tampa home.

Don's daughters say a team is in place, led by Smith, that has restored their hope of finding out what happened to their father ... and they believe Phillips is the lawyer they've been waiting for to handle the case.

Along with erecting 4 billboards across Tampa reading, "Who Murdered Don Lewis?" -- which also highlights the reward for info -- Don's family spokesperson says a cold case group on Facebook was started to hunt for clues ... which he says has already yielded results.

For instance, they looked into details about a septic tank installation allegedly connected to the case, and claim they found a discrepancy with what Carole had previously stated about it.

Other revelations from the Monday press conference include Phillips' plan to sue Baskin -- presumably for wrongful death -- and that the $100k reward money was made possible by an anonymous donor. BTW ... Carole has denied any involvement in Don's disappearance.

The team said it would not discuss further evidence at this time, but TMZ's learned an anonymous letter was sent to Jeff Lowe at the GW Zoo allegedly detailing where Don's body is buried ... so the letter writer claimed. We're told Jeff turned the letter over to authorities.

The family hopes the money and heightened interest in the case will lead to someone finally coming forward with a helpful tip that breaks the cold case open ... and results in justice for Don.

As you may know ... rumors over the cause of Don's death were fueled on 'Tiger King' by Joe Exotic, who made it clear he believes Baskin killed him. Although Carole's not a suspect, the Sheriff has said he's suspicious.

Dan Snyder claims a fired ex-employee is taking bribes to feed information to a foreign-based website that's out to get him, and now he's naming names in court.

The Washington Football Team owner is calling out Mary Ellen Blair, whom he describes as a former executive assistant in the team's offices. In docs filed Monday morning, Snyder claims Blair -- who was first demoted and then fired in 2017 -- contacted a current team employee in late May or early June to say a Washington Post story was coming out that would "not [be] good for Dan." Snyder insinuates she used stolen information, such as team contacts, to fish for negative information for that story.

BTW, The WaPo story that came out on July 5 claimed "minority owners" of the Washington Football Team are pissed at Snyder and wanted to sell their stakes.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Blair contacted team employees again in early July, and said another big story was coming out claiming Snyder did "dirty and illegal" things.

He claims Blair told one employee, you'd "probably make a lot of money" for info on Snyder. Sources connected to Snyder tell us he also has recordings of Blair and multiple affidavits indicating she actually offered bribes to contacts.

Snyder, who's hired high-powered attorney Joe Tacopina, says the employee didn't take the bait, and points out the WaPo story that was published July 16 alleged sexual harassment in Team offices ... but he was not accused.

However, around that time meaww.com did post stories alleging Snyder was involved in sex trafficking and tied to Jeffrey Epstein. As TMZ Sports first reported, he's filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the site, and now wants a judge to allow him to dig into Blair's recent contacts, her finances ... and especially her housing.

Snyder claims she's lived in a swanky apartment for years -- despite being in "dire financial straits" -- and says within the last 60 days she upgraded to an even higher-end home.

Juelz Santana is enjoying his newfound freedom thanks in part to Meek Mill ... and now he wants to give back to the inmates he met while behind bars.

Here's the deal ... Juelz is fresh outta prison after serving 19 months of his 27-month sentence in his airport drug case, and he's got Meek to thank for some smooth sailing.

Our sources tell us Meek helped Juelz by connecting his wife, Kimbella, with a lawyer who helped guide them through the process to ensure everything worked out. Courts and the prison system can be tricky, and we're told Meek wanted to ensure things would work out for Juelz.

The Dipset MC was able to come straight home and skip the halfway house he was originally destined for. Many halfway houses are shut down because of the pandemic.

Juelz is now on supervised release, which, as we first reported, means he'll have to submit to a drug test within 15 days of his release.

Now that he's out, Juelz tells us he wants to give back to inmates by working with non-profits whose missions include overturning sentences for wrongly convicted prisoners. Juelz says he also wants to help people in prison find a platform for the music and movie scripts they write in lockup.

On that same front, Juelz tells us he wrote a ton of new music on the inside, as well as a script for a TV series. He says he's going to get back in the studio Monday, but also wants to take time to focus on his family and make up for the 19 months he spent in prison.

Juelz's wife is happy to have her husband home ... she says it's surreal to have him back, wake up next to him and see him with their kids.

Here's proof some people just don't deserve dogs ... video shows a woman abandoning a good boy at a park, even tricking the poor pooch to leave it in the dust.

The heartbreaking scene played out at Orchards Community Park in Vancouver, WA and footage shows a woman pulling up in a Tesla, leading the dog into the woods, then leaving the animal and driving off.

Now, an investigation is underway and it's being handled by Clark County Animal Protection and Control.

The yellow lab ended up at a dog shelter, "I Paw'd it Forward," and folks there say the dog is safe. The shelter also says the pooch will not be up for adoption until the investigation is complete.

Clark County Animal Protection and Control says the driver of the Tesla seen in the video could potentially face a misdemeanor or civil infraction for animal cruelty ... and officials are asking the community if they recognize the woman or the dog.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Danica Dow's ex-BF is responding to her restraining order against him by getting his own against her ... claiming she clawed his neck over a "90 Day Fiance" episode.

Brett Willis beelined it to court in L.A. seeking a temporary restraining order against Danica, and claims she most recently got violent with him in July when an argument erupted between them.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, he says Danica was pissed he wouldn't clean his dish until after a "90 Day Fiance" episode ended. He says he went outside to let her cool off, but claims when he came back the argument continued ... “until Danica grabbed my neck twice, each time digging her nails deep and pulling hard enough to scratch off some skin from my neck.”

Willis claims she drew blood, just like she allegedly did in a February fight about a woman he'd hooked up with before they were together. According to the docs, Danica was so pissed she "ran across her bed to claw my neck and rip my shirt apart." He also alleges she bit his arm when he tried to get away.

He also claims she went off on him at a "Vanderpump Rules" premiere party. All that was enough for the judge, who granted his restraining order for Danica to stay at least 10 feet away when they're both working at Pump ... and 100 yards away outside the bar.

For her part, Danica claimed earlier this week that Brett broke into her home and cut up her clothes -- and she too was granted a restraining order.

Good news for Seattle Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar -- prosecutors are DROPPING all criminal charges against him stemming from an alleged armed robbery incident.

Bad news for New York Giants corner DeAndre Baker -- some of his charges are moving forward and he now faces up to life in prison.

As we previously reported, Baker -- along with Dunbar -- was arrested for allegedly robbing several people at gunpoint during a May 13 cookout in Miramar, FL.

Cops initially said ... witnesses told them Baker pulled out a semi-automatic firearm and directed Dunbar to start taking expensive watches and other valuables from people at the cookout.

At one point, cops say Baker directed a 3rd man -- who was wearing a red mask -- to shoot someone who had just walked into the party ... but fortunately, no one was actually shot.

Baker was charged with 4 counts of armed robbery and 4 counts of aggravated assault with a firearm -- though he has adamantly denied the allegations.

Dunbar was facing 4 counts of armed robbery.

But now, Broward State Attorney Mike Satz says Quinton Dunbar's charges are being dropped due to insufficient evidence.

As for Baker, he's been formally charged with 4 counts of robbery with a firearm.

Prosecutors say he's accused of stealing cash and watches from four men.

If convicted, 22-year-old Baker faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in state prison.

Officials add ... "Baker surrendered to jail on May 16 and was released on bond while the investigation has been pending."

Baker's attorney, Bradford Cohen, meanwhile, tells TMZ Sports ... "The state attorney's office is basing their case on the words of admitted liars who were paid off to change their stories."

"What the state attorney's office is doing here is just filing these charges without any corroborating evidence and saying let the justice system work it out. This type of thinking needs to be eliminated."

Baker -- a former Georgia Bulldog superstar -- was picked with the 30th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft and was expected to compete for a starting job on the Giants this season.

"Mob Wives" star Drita D'Avanzo asked the judge to go easy on her husband in his federal gun case ... but instead, the judge dropped the hammer.

Drita and her 2 daughters were in court Friday for her husband Lee D'Avanzo's sentencing in New Jersey where judge Rachel P. Kovner sentenced Lee to 64 months in prison.

Lee's counsel argued a sentence of 37 months was more than enough because he took responsibility for the crime ... but federal prosecutors in Brooklyn wanted up to 46 months. Kovner wasn't having it, saying keeping 2 loaded guns with hollow point ammunition in a home with 2 daughters was extremely dangerous.

Kovner added she didn't have confidence Lee would learn his lesson if she gave him a lighter sentence. She also noted Lee has 6 prior convictions and had previously violated supervised release. She said she had a duty to protect the public. Once he's done serving his sentence ... Lee will be on 2 years of supervised release.

As we reported ... Lee apologized for his actions and pled guilty to gun possession charges in back March after the NYPD raided the family home and found the guns. Drita was eventually cleared of all charges.

Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder is trying to smoke out the person behind a rash of Internet posts falsely accusing him of being a sex trafficker with ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Snyder took his battle to federal court Friday morning seeking info on a company called New Content Media, which operates the website, meaww.com. He's also filed a $10 million lawsuit in India against the parent company of the website that published the heinous stories last month.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Snyder says meaww.com posted an article hinting that a forthcoming Washington Post story was going to expose Snyder's alleged involvement in sex trafficking. Snyder points out the meaww.com post sourced anonymous Reddit posts, including one that said "[Snyder] is getting [arrested] for sex trafficking. He was on [Jeffrey] Epstein's list too."

As you know, the July 16 WaPo article said no such thing -- it detailed sexual harassment allegations against several team executives ... but not Snyder.

In the suit, he says the site also posted this outlandish theory -- "Will Dan Snyder rename Washington Redskins the 'Epsteins?'"

Snyder, whose team just unveiled its brand new helmets for the upcoming season, calls the stories "utterly untrue" with no "legitimate journalistic basis whatsoever."

That being said, he is painfully aware the articles spread like wildfire across the Internet. As Snyder says in the suit, the articles "have been referenced in at least 22 stories which have generated over 160 million impressions."

Although meaww.com took down the articles under threat of legal action ... he says the damage has been done to his character and his family name.

What's clearly important to him now is not just the $10 million he's seeking for defamation -- but also finding out who engineered the whole smear campaign. In the docs, he says he wants the "identity of the third parties involved in hiring [meaww.com] to publish these false and defamatory articles."