Legal

A former "Big Brother" contestant is being taken to court ... because Pennsylvania's attorney general claims she and her company are running a "homeowner benefits" scam.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, AG Josh Shapiro is going after season 15 contestant Amanda Zachman -- who went by "Zuckerman" on the show -- and her Florida-based company, MV Realty.

According to the docs, Zachman's company scams customers by offering them a one-time upfront payment -- usually between $400 and $700 -- in exchange for the right to exclusively list their homes on the real estate market for 40 years.

However, the AG says backing out before 4 decades has draconian penalties -- and the AG says they buried the risks in the fine print, and never told the homeowners about it. The AG says the company screwed over 1,000 unsuspecting homeowners.

The docs claim MV Realty's phone sales pitch misleads homeowners by stating there's no risk or cost to them unless they sell. He says his office has heard from a bunch of homeowners claiming they've been ripped off.

Fans of "Big Brother" remember Zachman having a showmance with McCrae Olson and placing 7th in the season ... she went down as one of the most villainous, and this may not help her reputation.

A statement from MV reads, "MV Realty has helped more than 30,000 satisfied clients nationwide through our Homeowner Benefit Agreement (HBA) by providing our clients up to $5,000 that can be used to pay their mortgage, utility bills or improve their financial standing. In return, we only ask to be their realtor if they sell their home during the term of our agreement."

They continue, "New and innovative business models, like the HBA, can transform established industries and can sometimes draw questions from critics or outright hostility from those whose existing business model is threatened. However, to suggest that MV Realty has engaged in unfair or deceptive practices is simply false."

Megan Thee Stallion's ex-friend Kelsey Harris says she absolutely saw Tory Lanez firing a gun at Meg -- that's what she told police back in September, and today the jury heard that whole exchange.

As you know, Kelsey has been hesitant, to say the least, to give up many details while testifying this week, but on Friday prosecutors played audio of the entire interview she did with cops earlier this year ... when she spilled every detail from that July 2020 night.

Kelsey says while they were in the SUV -- after the party at Kylie Jenner's house -- she and Tory first got into an argument when he made fun of Megan. When Kelsey came to her friend's defense, she claims Tory said, "My n****, I'm gonna shoot you." Kelsey says Tory reached toward the center console, but didn't do anything more than that.

However, the vehicle was pulled over at that point. Then she says Meg and Tory started insulting each other's careers, and things got so heated, both Meg and Kelsey got out of the SUV.

Almost immediately Kelsey says she started hearing gunshots, and after the 2nd or 3rd shot she turned around and says she saw Tory in the front seat firing the gun forward, over the open right front door in Meg's direction.

Kelsey was outside of the vehicle, but behind Tory and could only see Meg from the chest up. She ran toward Megan "in defense mode," and saw her bleeding ... and Tory was still sitting in the front seat, apparently in shock.

She claims Tory walked toward them, and that's when Kelsey and Tory started fighting. She describes it as Tory assaulting her, and adds she did not see a gun at that point.

Once they all got back in the SUV, Kelsey says she texted Megan's security, "911. Tory shot Meg."

Once the police arrived, Kelsey claims Tory told them not to say anything to officers because he was about to sign a big deal, and he offered both women $1 million each.

That's all that's been played of Kelsey's interview so far, but there's more to come after the lunch break.

Obviously, the audio reveals just about everything Kelsey skirted talking about on the stand -- with a lot of I don't recalls -- but her memory sounded pretty solid a few months ago.

Jen Shah just addressed her absence, saying at first she was not invited to attend the reunion, but show honchos changed their minds two weeks ago -- asking her to attend.

She says, "I was clear with Bravo that out of respect for the courts and a standing judicial order, I would not be in a position to disuss anything related to my legal case or sentenching. Bravo found this unsatisfactory and said they expected discuss this "storyline."

She continues, "That expectation has no regard for me or my family's well-being; so under legal advice, I will not be attending reunion. I need to focus on the most important thing in my life - my family."

Jen Shah was a no-show for the taping of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" reunion ... TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell us the 'RHOSLC' stars are filming the show Friday in New York City, but Jen skipped out despite being invited to join her fellow costars and Andy Cohen.

We're told the reunion show is still moving forward without Jen ... it's Hollywood, after all, and the show must go on. Our sources say Lisa Barlow, Meredith Marks, Heather Gay and Whitney Rose are on set with Andy.

Jen's got other things on her mind these days ... she's awaiting sentencing in her federal case after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was arrested back in March 2021 and next month a judge will decide her fate -- she's facing up to 14 years.

By not showing up, Jen's also avoiding questions about her counterfeit designer bag collection ... as we first told you, the feds seized a ton of Jen's possessions when agents raided her home, including more than 30 counterfeit luxury bags and around 40 pieces of counterfeit luxury bling.

It appears Jen is home in Utah, hanging out with family ... far from the reunion show taping.

Tory Lanez raised a lot of eyebrows when he brought his young son to court for the Megan Thee Stallion shooting trial ... so it might not be a total surprise he was without him today.

Tory pulled up to a DTLA courthouse Friday in a white Range Rover -- Tory looked dapper in a black and white suit, earring and sunglasses. However, he was silent, not speaking with cameras as he walked inside.

As we reported, Tory walked hand in hand with 5-year-old Kai'Lon into the courthouse earlier this week -- adjusting his son's suit and then carrying him out on his back on the exit.

We were inside the courtroom for the hearing, and while Kai'Lon wasn't there the whole time, he made at least one appearance ... and hung with his dad during breaks.

Tory told cameras earlier this week Kai'Lon was his biggest support system and that's why he decided he wanted to bring him to the hearing.

Tristan Thompson has hammered out a paternity settlement for his second-youngest child -- where he'll shell out monthly ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Tristan Thompson and Maralee Nichols have agreed to terms for Theo, their 1-year-old son. We're told Tristan will pay $9,500 a month in child support and also covered some of Nichols' lawyer fees.

The $9,500 may seem low considering his NBA contracts have totaled $100M over the span of his career -- but he isn't currently on a team and therefore not earning income, and income is the operative factor in determining child support.

Our sources say Maralee will have sole custody, and while they haven't figured out an official visitation plan yet, those talks will come in the near future.

What's more -- we're told Tristan will be listed as the father on Theo's birth certificate.

Our sources say the paternity settlement agreement will be filed today in L.A. County Superior Court.

Maralee gave birth to Theo in December of last year -- and things got ugly -- Maralee sued Tristan for child support, even claiming he offered to pay her $75,000 to keep quiet about the baby.

It was in January when he came clean after a paternity test, revealing he was Theo's dad, and apologized to Khloe, saying, "You don't deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don't deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions have certainly not lined up with the way I view you."

While we didn't know it at the time, Khloe and Tristan were expecting a son via surrogate at the time of Tristan's apology -- that baby was born in July.

The Backstreet Boys are unified in the midst of the rape allegations against bandmate Nick Carter ... according to fellow bandmate AJ McLean.

AJ was stoic at LAX Thursday, making it clear ... everyone in the group loves Nick and is standing strong with him during his legal battle.

TMZ broke the story ... Shannon Ruth, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, filed suit last week, claiming Nick forced her to perform a sexual act on him while on his tour bus. She said she was 17 at the time.

Nick denies the alleged incident ever happened, but as we reported ... ABC canceled a Backstreet Boys prime time holiday special that was set to air this week.

'Till' star Jalyn Hall says the film about Emmett Till is more than just art ... it's a form of activism and he's certain justice will be served, no matter how long it takes.

We got the 15-year-old Thursday outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and asked about the importance of sharing Emmett's story, whose death shocked so many when he was brutally killed in 1955 and a photo of his badly beaten body was made public.

Jalyn tells us he believes the movie will work as a movement, telling us filmmaker Keith Beauchamp worked on the project for 30 years, gathering missing evidence to create the movie.

If you didn't know, there's been a recent push to have Carolyn Bryant Donham indicted for accusing Emmett of whistling at her in a convenience store in 1955. Her claim led to a group of white men beating, mutilating and shooting Till in the head.

New evidence was recently uncovered -- including a 1955 arrest warrant with Donham's name on it for possibly lying about her encounter with Emmett -- but a grand jury declined to indict her.

Angela Yee says folks need to ease up on labeling Gunna a snitch -- just because he copped a plea deal in the YSL RICO case, she doesn't believe the rapper would ever sing to the feds.

We got the longtime 'Breakfast Club' host at the Allure Store in NYC, and asked her about Gunna's release this week from jail -- a move that's seemingly turned everyone on social media into legal experts, comparing him to Tekashi 6ix9ine ... who infamously ratted to get out of prison.

Angela admits she's no lawyer, but did tell us why she's hesitant to place the snitch label on Gunna.

As we reported, Gunna walked free Wednesday from the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, ending his 7 months of incarceration.

The Grammy-nominated rapper pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge as part of a pre-negotiated plea known as an Alford plea and was sentenced to 5 years behind bars ... with one of those years commuted for time served and the remaining 4 suspended, pending special conditions and community service.

Angela doesn't think Young Thug has any problem with Gunna's plea deal -- she believes Thug didn't want to see Gunna locked up with him in the first place.

Jen Shah seems to have a thing for counterfeits ... because the feds say they seized a ton of fake designer bags and jewelry when they raided her Utah home.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' star was sitting on a treasure trove of knockoffs ... including more than 30 counterfeit luxury bags and around 40 pieces of counterfeit luxury bling.

Jen's counterfeit collection included knockoff bags from designers like Chanel, Balenciaga, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Gucci, Jimmy Choo and Fendi ... mostly made in China.

Jen's fake jewelry included pieces claiming to be designed by Bulgari, Chanel, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Hermes and Tiffany & Co.

The feds seized all of Jen's knockoffs when they raided her home back in March 2021 as part of an investigation into her fraud case.

As part of Jen pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, she was ordered to forfeit $6.5 million to help pay up to $9.5 million in restitution ... and the feds have now released the inventory of the items.

The list does also include legitimate designer purses and jewelry such as bling from castmate Meredith Marks' company -- that will hopefully put a dent in what she owes.

Aaron Carter's son, Prince, is back in the hands of his mom ... because we've learned Aaron's fiancée Melanie Martin just got full custody of her son.

A rep for Melanie tells TMZ -- a hearing was held Thursday in L.A., and the court found her fit to care for her child -- awarding her full custody of the 1-year-old. We're told Melanie was in New York at the time but was contacted by her legal team with the good news.

Her rep says she's currently on her way to Cali to get Prince ... adding she's extremely happy and eager to see her son.

For those unaware, Prince has been cared for by Melanie's mom since September when Aaron and Melanie lost custody, reportedly due to concerns about drug use and domestic violence.

Melanie tells TMZ, "I’m honoring Aaron today and I know he would be so proud of me. I’m very emotional thinking we could have been a family, but Aaron would be so happy knowing I got him back.”

Ex-NFL star Aqib Talib has just been sued ... after he allegedly helped incite an altercation that led to a fatal shooting at a youth football game back in August.

Michael Hickmon's family filed the lawsuit in Dallas County on Tuesday ... claiming the actions of Talib and his brother, Yaqub Talib, at a Big XII Youth Sports League event ultimately led to Hickmon's tragic death on Aug. 13.

According to the suit, Hickmon was coaching the Dragons Elite Academy 9-and-under youth football team against the Talibs' North Dallas United Bobcats.

Hickmon's family says the game was contentious -- claiming several calls had tensions running "high" throughout the contest.

At one point, according to Hickmon's family, the Dragons scored a touchdown following a Bobcats' taunting penalty -- and the Talibs were so upset about it, they ended the game.

The plaintiffs claim in the suit that Hickmon then went to retrieve the game ball -- but was "confronted" by Aqib, who allegedly threw a punch.

"Surprised and outnumbered," the Hickmon family said in the suit, "Hickmon defensively backpedaled."

The family went on to say in the lawsuit that Yaqub then pulled out a handgun and fired five shots -- striking Hickmon with several bullets.

Hickmon later died at a local hospital.

The Hickmon family is suing the Talibs and others for wrongful death ... asking for unspecified damages.

As we previously reported, Yaqub was arrested and later charged with murder. 36-year-old Aqib, meanwhile, has not been charged with any crimes.

Aqib's attorney released a statement following it all in August ... saying, "Aqib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life. He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy."

Megan Thee Stallion's former bestie, Kelsey Nicole Harris, still has a bad case of courtroom amnesia, and about all she can recall is ... Tory Lanez didn't pay her off.

Kelsey was back on the stand Thursday for her second day of testimony in Tory's trial for allegedly shooting Meg in her feet -- and much like Wednesday, Kelsey's suddenly claiming she doesn't remember any details from the night of the shooting.

Under cross-examination, Tory's attorney asked Kelsey if Tory paid her anything and she said, "No. I want to make it very clear ... Tory didn't pay me anything."

That was pretty much her longest response all day. Earlier, the prosecution asked if she remembered telling them during a September interview "that Tory tried to bribe you?" She said, "I don't remember what I said in September."

She also did not recall telling prosecutors in September that Tory fired the gun, or seeing Megan limping after the gunshots were fired that night in July 2020.

As for why she's apparently changing her story from September, Kelsey said she was "receiving pressure" back then. When asked from what or whom ... she offered the oddly vague, "from everything."

When asked squarely, "Who shot [Megan]?" ... Kelsey said, "I don't know."

On Wednesday, Kelsey swore under oath she wasn't the one who pulled the trigger, which, logically speaking, only leaves Tory and the driver of the SUV as potential suspects ... and no one's ever alleged the driver fired the shots.

She also repeatedly said "no" when asked if she was afraid of Tory, or if she'd spoken to him or Meg or their attorneys.

Kelsey, who prior to yesterday everyone believed would be the key witness, will be back on the stand after a lunch break.

We smell a bunch of one-word responses coming. Stay tuned!

The man charged with attacking Dave Chappelle onstage at the Hollywood Bowl just got sentenced to 9 months behind bars after taking a plea deal with prosecutors.

Dave's attacker, 24-year-old Isaiah Lee, was sentenced Thursday to 270 days in Los Angeles County jail after pleading no contest to a pair of misdemeanor counts -- entering a restricted area during a live event and battery -- according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

As we reported ... Lee ran onstage in the middle of Dave's May 3 performance at the Hollywood Bowl, evading security and tackling Chappelle to the ground.

After taking Dave to the ground, Lee ran off the stage ... catching an epic beatdown before being arrested.

It was discovered Lee was carrying a replica gun with a knife blade during the incident ... and L.A. County D.A. George Gascon took a ton of heat for refusing the charge Lee with a felony. Instead, the L.A. City Attorney ultimately charged him with four misdemeanors.

We're told the weapon will now be destroyed.

Remember ... in a jailhouse interview with the NY Post in the weeks following the attack, Lee said he was bisexual and claimed he was "triggered" by Dave's LGBT jokes.

Tennis legend Boris Becker is a free man -- the world's former #1-ranked player has been released from prison in the UK after serving 8 months for bankruptcy fraud.

The 55-year-old is out earlier than expected -- he was originally handed 2.5 years behind bars in April after being convicted on four charges stemming from his 2017 bankruptcy case ... and the judge said at the time Becker would have to serve half his sentence in jail.

Attorney Christian-Oliver Moser says Becker has returned to his home country of Germany following his release, where he is "not subject to any penal restrictions."

Had Becker chosen to stay in the UK -- where he's lived since 2012 -- he would have faced deportation, according to PA Media.

As we previously reported, Becker was accused of moving large sums of money from his business account after declaring bankruptcy in 2017 ... as well as concealing assets and debts. He was facing up to 7 years behind bars.

Elon Musk claims a "crazy stalker" put his son in danger, and now the Twitter honcho's threatening to take legal action against someone who's publicly exposing his location ... which he believes led to the attack.

Elon tweeted Wednesday night that a car carrying his 2-year-old boy, "lil X," was followed by an unknown person ... adding they later blocked the vehicle and climbed onto the hood.

He also posted a clip of the alleged stalker, showing their license plate -- asking "Anyone recognize this person or car?"

In a clearly related move, he says legal action's being taken against programmer Jack Sweeney, the person who started Elon's flight-tracking account in 2020.

This call-out came shortly after Elon dropped a new rule for Twitter -- "Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info."

Elon notes people are allowed to post locations someone's been at on a "slightly delayed basis," saying it isn't a safety problem.

Jack's account has since been suspended, and many online see that move as a sign Elon's free speech pledge is a one-way street -- as soon as the "free speech" harmed him, he shut it down.

Megan Thee Stallion's ex-best friend is the key witness who, all of a sudden, doesn't seem to remember much about the night in question ... which amounted to a wild day in court.

Kelsey Nicole Harris -- who was the other woman in the car with Tory Lanez and MTS during the 2020 shooting -- caused fireworks Wednesday when she was called to the stand by the prosecution ... almost immediately asking for immunity in the case, and receiving it for her testimony.

Despite this, Kelsey proved to be an incredibly difficult witness during direct examination ... attempting to invoke her 5th Amendment rights constantly, and often asking the judge if she had to answer certain questions -- hesitantly doing so when she did actually talk.

What she definitively testified to Wednesday, under oath, was that she did NOT shoot Megan Thee Stallion -- contradicting the defense's theory that she could've pulled the trigger.

Now, as for who she says did the shooting ... unclear. At one point, Kelsey did testify that Tory threatened to shoot her (Kelsey) -- but later on the stand, Kelsey seemed to backtrack ... saying sworn statements she'd given investigators in the lead-up to this trial weren't entirely truthful, despite being played back recordings of her saying just that back in September.

Prosecutors clearly wanted her to point the finger at Tory -- but so far, Kelsey has not done that ... and it could have a disastrous impact on the prosecution’s case.

Of course, another way to look at this ... by process of elimination, if Kelsey is denying doing the shooting -- and with the driver never having been accused whatsoever -- one could surmise there's only one person left who could have fired the shots -- Tory Lanez.