Legal

Rapper Lil Mosey can't legally drink yet, but he's old enough to have some adult trouble with the law after getting arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the 18-year-old "Pull Up" rapper was busted in Burbank when cops pulled over a 2016 Cadillac Escalade with 3 people inside -- Mosey, his driver/bodyguard and a juvenile.

We're told cops initially made the stop last Sunday around 1 AM because they didn't have plates. That turned out to be the least of Mosey and his crew's problems.

Cops say things got serious when they noticed an empty holster sitting on the driver's lap, which prompted an immediate search ... and the discovery of 3 loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistols.

One was allegedly on the juvenile, one in the glove box and one in the center console. And, bonus round ... our sources say cops also found 4 credit cards in the bodyguards backpack that did NOT belong to any of the occupants.

All 3 occupants were placed under arrest -- all 3 got booked for felony concealed weapons since no once claimed the 2 weapons found in the glove and console.

Ex-NBA player Gerald Wilkins allegedly punched a woman and a man at an Atlanta gas station around 3 AM -- and that's why he was arrested for battery, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Gerald Wilkins -- younger brother of NBA legend Dominique Wilkins -- was arrested on August 18 and faces 3 criminal charges, including battery.

Now, we've obtained the police report which spells out the allegations against him ... and it's not great.

Wilkins told cops he got into an argument with a female rideshare driver who refused to let him inside her car unless he ordered correctly through the app.

The driver claims Wilkins got so heated, he punched her in the shoulder -- and that's when 2 male witnesses jumped in to break it up.

One of the male witnesses claims he was punched in the face by Wilkins during the melee.

A 3rd witness, who was pumping gas at the time, seemed to back up the female driver's story ... that Wilkins was the instigator.

Wilkins says he called 911 and claimed to be the real victim -- telling the operator he was attacked.

But, cops didn't believe Gerald's story -- and ultimately arrested him.

Records show he's facing 3 criminal charges -- 2 counts of misdemeanor simple battery and 1 count of misdemeanor criminal trespass.

Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have learned their fate in their college admissions scandal -- they’re both going to prison for a bit … bringing a case full of interesting twists and turns to a close.

The judge has accepted the plea deals the couple agreed to back in May. This means Lori’s sentenced to 2 months behind bars, a $150,000 fine and 2 years probation ... along with performing 100 hours of community service.

She appeared before the judge Friday via Zoom with her lawyer, just like her husband did hours earlier. During the hearing, one of the prosecutors sounded off on her, saying despite her family's advantages ... "her children stole tuition spots from more capable and deserving students."

Lori responded with a tearful apology, saying ... "I've made an awful decision. I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college decision process. I thought I was acting out of love for my children, but in reality, it only undermined my daughter's abilities and accomplishments. My decision helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society."

She said she wishes she could change the past, but takes responsibility for her actions. Lori added ... "I believe in God and I believe in redemption, and I will do everything in my power to redeem myself and do good and give back for the rest of my life. I am truly profoundly and deeply sorry."

The judge told her he believes she's remorseful and sorry, and hopes she's true to her word about making amends for what she did for the rest of her life.

Though the couple both pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, Lori’s hubby also pled guilty to an additional charge of honest services wire and mail fraud … so his sentence is a bit harsher.

The judge sentenced Mossimo to 5 months incarceration, a fine of $250k and supervised release for 2 years after his prison sentence. He must also perform 250 hours of community service.

He also addressed the judge, saying ... "I deeply regret the harm that my actions have caused my daughters, my wife and others. I take full responsibility for my conduct and I'm ready to accept the consequences and move forward with the lessons I've learned from this experience."

Based on their deals, house arrest is off the table ... they will actually have to go to prison. As for which one, Mossimo's lawyer recommended the Lompoc Prison in California ... and the judge agreed he should stay close to home. Lori's lawyer suggested one even closer for her.

The Federal Board of Prisons will ultimately decide though, but given that both are first time offenders, convicted of non-violent crimes, it's likely they'll go to a minimum-security facility -- not unlike the one in Northern California where Felicity Huffman did 11 days soft time.

You'll recall ... Lori and Mossimo were just 2 of the 53 people indicted in the college admissions scandal. They were accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters Olivia Jade and Bella into USC, and faking a photo to make it look like the girls were college-caliber rowers.

One final thing ... given the COVID pandemic, once Lori and Mossimo start serving their sentences ... if the virus is spreading inside the prison, they could ask for compassionate release and serve the balance at home. That's already been done in a number of cases, so it's a real possibility for them.

Jeff Lowe's animals at the 'Tiger King' zoo have not been getting proper veterinary care for years ... according to the feds who've suspended his license to run the zoo.

As we reported ... the U.S. Department of Agriculture yanked Jeff's exhibitor's license for Joe Exotic's old GW Exotic Animal Park for 21 days, and now we know why the USDA finally made the call to punish him.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the USDA cites Lowe for numerous failures in providing vet care for his animals dating back to November 2017.

The USDA points out that the number of animals at Lowe's zoo has exploded from 29 in 2017 up to 212 in 2020, and alleges he's simply incapable of taking care of all the lions, tigers, lemurs, monkeys and other animals he's accumulated.

Jeff's also accused of submitting false documents related to veterinary care and records. Specifically, the USDA claims he submitted reports from its attending vet in 2019 and 2020 ... even though that vet claims she resigned from the zoo in June 2018.

According to the docs ... Jeff and his wife, Lauren, have also violated regulations in exhibiting animals without sufficient distance and barriers between them and the public.

And of course, the USDA cites countless examples of allegedly mistreated animals from its recent investigation -- as we first told you -- like the 16-week-old lion cub that was too weak to stand, geriatric wolves in pain and a 17-year-old dead tigon that was not properly cared for or disposed of.

Finally, the USDA claims Lowe does not possess the required paperwork -- acquisition records and disposition records -- for a bunch of the zoo animals.

Lowe tells us the allegations of improper veterinary care have never been an issue until the most recent USDA inspection, which he previously dismissed as the government being "overzealous."

Michael Jackson's Funko POP! dolls might belong on a shelf somewhere, but they had no business being on the company's site for years now ... and his estate just put an end to it.

Sources tell TMZ ... attorneys for the MJ estate recently noticed Funko POP! was still using images of the rare Michael Jackson collection that hit the market nearly a decade ago on their website in what the estate considered a way to keep fans engaged.

Fact is ... we're told the estate did do a 2-year licensing deal with Funko in 2011, but that expired in 2013. However, Funko collectors could still access images of the dolls in the website catalogues ... a no-no for Mike's Estate.

As for the dolls, the original collection featured 5 -- one for Bad, Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Billie Jean and one in a sequined jacket -- and they still do pretty well on the resale market. In fact, there's a Smooth Criminal doll on Amazon for nearly $300.

In any case, Funko got the message, and agreed to pull the images of the MJ dolls ... so the MJ Estate was satisfied.

Britney Spears' ex-husband -- not Kevin Federline, the other one -- is back in her life and seems to be shooting his shot for another chance ... he's joining the #FreeBritney movement.

Jason Allen Alexander -- who you may recall was married to Britney for a whopping 55 hours after their wild, 2004 Vegas wedding -- was outside the L.A. courthouse Wednesday where a hearing took place over her conservatorship ... which has been in force since 2008 after her breakdown.

Jason reps himself as a bit of an expert on these conservatorship court proceedings -- though it's unclear why -- and tells us he believes it's long overdue for her to be rid of it ... much like thousands of other Britney fans.

More interesting though, is Jason says he's back in touch with his longtime friend and brief spouse after not hearing from her for a decade ... and suggests he's been heavily involved in major recent developments in her life.

Jason even admits he's there with the hope of rekindling things with Britney -- claiming their marriage was never given a fair chance ... and he's down for a do-over.

As we reported ... Britney's looking to make some big changes to her conservatorship -- mainly, she wants her father, Jamie, to no longer be in charge of it.

Britney Spears wants a change in her 12-year conservatorship but she didn't get it at today's court hearing ... because TMZ has learned it was all status quo.

As we reported, Britney's lawyer filed legal docs asking to permanently replace her dad, Jamie Spears, as the conservator over her person. She also wants a bank or other financial institution to manage her business affairs, along with Jamie. Currently, Jamie is the sole conservator over her business affairs.

Here's the rub ... certain legal docs need to be filed before her issues go before a judge, and that hasn't happened. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Wednesday's court hearing was simply a scheduled status conference and nothing has changed.

Our sources say Britney's problem in this case is that there has been a declaration she's not able to make important life decisions because of her mental illness, so her wishes will almost certainly be tempered by the very fact there is a conservatorship.

Sources connected to Britney say she is not doing well and has not been on an even keel for more than a year.

Ex-NBA player Gerald Wilkins -- younger bro of Dominique Wilkins -- was arrested Tuesday on 2 counts of battery and he's still behind bars, TMZ Sports has learned.

The 56-year-old was taken into custody in Cobb County, Georgia on August 18.

Records show he's facing 3 criminal charges -- 2 counts of misdemeanor simple battery and 1 count of misdemeanor criminal trespass.

We're working on the details.

Wilkins was a 2nd round pick in the 1985 NBA Draft and went on to play for the Knicks, Cleveland Cavs, Grizzlies and  Orlando Magic ... before finally retiring in 1999.

It's been a rough year for Wilkins who's facing a bunch of criminal charges stemming from multiple alleged incidents over the past few months.

Officials say he attacked a work colleague back on June 9 ... and was also involved in a domestic incident on June 6.

Before that, Wilkins was charged with assault for allegedly trying to force his way into a woman's home back in May.

Lupe Fiasco says there's a lot of blame to go around in addressing Chicago's surging crime beyond bad apple cops ... according to him, gun control laws are just as much at fault.

The Chicago-raised MC came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to address the historic number of shootings happening in the Windy City in recent weeks. He told us ... yes, some policing tactics hurt more than help, but he thinks the issue is much deeper than that.

Lupe, who has multiple family members in law enforcement, says there are too many differing POVs on how to uphold the peace, and adds cops using gangster's methods -- like blatant brutality -- isn't helping matters.

He says police officers should be setting the standard in how to treat one another, but that's just not happening right now ... and it's just adding to the city's chaos.

Another issue he sees is the "gang problem," as he puts it. Too many factions have splintered off and are running amok, and he says the other part of the equation is the guns that end up in gang members' hands.

Another huge victory in court for Robert Kraft ... video allegedly showing the Patriots owner receiving sex acts in a massage spa has been ruled INADMISSIBLE once again.

The 79-year-old's dream team of attorneys had successfully argued last year that Feb. 2019 footage of Kraft inside a Jupiter, Fla. day spa violated his rights and should NOT be allowed to be used in the case against him.

But, prosecutors appealed the decision to the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal ... and said at a June hearing that police had every right to roll on Kraft.

On Wednesday ... judges sided with the New England owner -- saying in a lengthy opinion that cops screwed up in the way they went about recording video inside of the spa.

In the opinion, the judges say Kraft -- and others who received legitimate non-sexual massages -- had a reasonable right to privacy inside the facility.

The judges also say officers didn't do enough in their surveillance to protect those innocent people who were inside the spa getting perfectly legal massages.

Prosecutors now have the option to appeal yet again to a higher court ... but this is likely the last stop.

In other words, seems the footage has been officially blocked for good.

It's a huge deal for RK ... officials have hit him with 2 charges of soliciting prostitution and he was realistically looking at a fine and community service if convicted -- but with no smoking gun video, it'll be much harder to get a conviction.

A spokesperson for Kraft tells TMZ Sports the Pats owner is "pleased" with the ruling -- noting that it effectively blocks footage "that should never have been taken."

"In doing so, the appellate panel unanimously agreed with every judge who has examined these issues and ruled that law enforcement acted unconstitutionally when conducting their investigation."

"Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" star Miss Robbie is dealing with a new family shocker tied to the murder of her grandson -- cops have arrested her own son for an alleged murder-for-hire plot straight outta "Dateline."

Miss Robbie's son, and costar on the OWN show, James Timothy Norman was busted by feds for his alleged role in the 2016 shooting death of Andre Montgomery ... his nephew and Miss Robbie's grandchild.

According to docs, prosecutors say Norman -- who owns Sweetie Pie's restaurant -- took out a $450k life insurance policy on his nephew back in 2014 ... and then worked with a woman named Terica Ellis to allegedly pull off the murder. The feds claim they communicated on burner phones in the days leading up to the killing in St. Louis.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors claim Ellis got Andre's location the day of the murder ... then placed a call to Norman. Shortly after that, on March 14, 2016 ... Montgomery was shot at killed, and the feds claim they ping'd Ellis' phone near the scene of the crime.

Immediately after Montgomery's murder ... Ellis allegedly called Norman, left town and deposited $9k in cash into various bank accounts. Prosecutors say Norman then contacted the life insurance company in an attempt to collect on the policy.

Ellis is facing the same murder-for-hire conspiracy charge as Norman.

Britney Spears is looking to make some big changes to her conservatorship -- and she's firmly against her father, Jamie, continuing to run the whole show.

Britney's court-appointed attorney just filed new court docs spelling out Britney's wishes -- she wants Jamie Spears out as sole conservator over her estate and appears to want the woman who since last Fall has been calling the shots to be the permanent conservator over her regular person.

In the docs, the lawyer says Britney "strongly prefers" keeping Jodi Montgomery in the position -- who has been assigned as the temporary conservator over Britney's person for nearly a year now. At this point, she says she wants to put her in that role permanently.

As for her business affairs, Britney's attorney says she doesn't want Jamie to be the only one handling her estate anymore -- which he's been managing exclusively since 2019 when his co-conservator resigned.

Instead, he says Britney prefers a "qualified corporate fiduciary" to manage the business affairs of her estate. But, what's unclear in the docs is if she's okay with keeping Jamie on as a co-conservator at all.

Sources with knowledge of the situation tell us conversations have been had about adding a corporate fiduciary -- which we're told would likely be a bank -- but that the talks have included Jamie staying on as co-conservator of the estate. The wording from Britney's side in the docs isn't clear if she's still open to that arrangement or not.

The docs also say what we told you last year ... Britney no longer wants to perform at this time -- as in, no more Vegas residency. The attorney says a major overhaul in how her conservatorship is run is needed to reflect her current lifestyle and her wishes.

Cuba Gooding Jr. allegedly coerced a woman to his hotel room and raped her before falling asleep and allowing her to escape ... this according to an explosive new lawsuit.

The suit's been filed by a Jane Doe ... who claims Gooding raped her in 2013 at The Mercer hotel in NYC. According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the woman and her friend met Gooding at a restaurant's VIP lounge on the evening of August 24, and he invited them for drinks back at the hotel.

The woman claims Gooding arranged for a cab to take him and her to the hotel -- and says she planned to meet her friend at the hotel bar -- but once they got to The Mercer ... he asked her to go to his room so he could change.

According to the suit ... the woman was hesitant but Gooding said it would be quick, but once inside the room, she claims he turned on music, blocked the door and began to undress.

Jane Doe says she tried to leave, but Gooding stopped her and forcibly began to sexually assault her with his hands. She alleges she resisted and said "no" several times, but Gooding became physically aggressive and threw her on the bed.

Then, according to the docs, Gooding "aggressively removed Plaintiff’s underwear" and vaginally raped her. She alleges he did not wear a condom and raped her until he ejaculated.

In the suit, she says Gooding went to the bathroom afterward, but as she was attempting to get out of the bed, he returned and raped her again ... this time anally.

She says they both laid in the bed after this as she feared he would rape her a third time, but he fell asleep ... allowing her to leave his hotel room.

Jane Doe is suing Gooding for a "crime of violence" based on gender and seeking damages.

Cuba's attorney, Mark Heller, tells TMZ ..."Clearly, this is a fabricated accusation that was never reported to the police -- and forms no basis for any claim at this point with 7 years having passed."

Tracy Morgan and his estranged wife are filing divorce docs almost in lockstep, and agree they have a prenup ... but there are signs the split could get nasty.

Megan was first to file, on July 28, and Tracy filed the next day. He wants joint legal custody and shared time with their 7-year-old daughter -- but Megan wants sole legal and physical custody ... so, there's a potential battle brewing.

And, get this ... Tracy also wants Megan to be required to change her last name back to her maiden name. We've also learned the couple does have a prenup, as both parties acknowledge in their divorce docs.

As we reported ... they announced last month they would file for divorce after almost 5 years of marriage. In a statement, Tracy told TMZ ... "Sadly, after nearly five years of marriage, Megan and I are filing for divorce. This is a challenging time for all involved."

Tracy and Megan met in 2011 after meeting on a blind date. They announced their engagement later that year at the Emmy Awards, and had their first child, daughter Maven, in July 2013. Tracy and Megan finally tied the knot on Aug. 23, 2015.

Fetty Wap's estranged wife wants possession of the rock he slipped on her finger when he proposed, or a fat stack of cash ... but Fetty's saying she's outta luck, 'cause he never owned it.

Leandra Gonzalez filed docs asking a judge to order Fetty to turn over the $60k engagement ring from their failed marriage.

If he doesn't produce the rock, she claims he owes her $37,000 -- the appraised value of the engagement ring. Leandra's arguing it's hers to keep because they went through with the marriage, tying the knot August 3, 2019, in Toronto.

Under the law that's called a "gift in contemplation of marriage" ... and since they said, "I do," she's saying she will take that ring -- but Fetty says there's a catch here.

Fetty's position is he never owned the ring outright when he proposed. He claims he bought the ring on consignment from the jeweler and never ended up paying for it. A few months after the marriage crumbled, Fetty says he snapped up the ring and gave it back to the jeweler.

He is willing to negotiate with Leandra, a little. In docs, the Jersey rapper offers a straight-up trade ... the jeweler keeps the diamond ring, and he will give Leandra HIS wedding band.

C-Murder is singing Kim Kardashian's praises now that she's pledged to help get him outta prison ... the incarcerated rapper says she's an angel who gives him hope.

C-Murder just broke his silence on Kim joining his fight for freedom, saying KK and his ex-girlfriend, Monica, are angels sent by God.

In a message from behind the walls of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where C-Murder is serving a life sentence after being convicted in the 2002 fatal shooting of a 16-year-old fan at a Louisiana nightclub, CM says he's focusing on his blessings ... namely, Kim devoting resources to try and get his 2009 conviction overturned.

C-Murder says he called his ex 7 months ago and that's when Monica started to get Kim involved, unbeknownst to him. C-Murder says he can finally sleep knowing Kim and Monica are fighting for his freedom.

Master P's been fighting for his brother ... lobbying President Obama and trying to get a new jury to look at the case ... but now KK is trying to do for C-Murder what she did for Alice Marie Johnson.

As we reported ... Kim pledged to get involved with C-Murder's case Sunday, noting evidence is now in question and eyewitnesses have recanted testimony pinning him to the crime he was convicted of committing. Jurors were also allegedly pressured to vote guilty.