Legal

Michael Jackson’s estate is firing back at the late pop star’s former friends, who are suing for alleged sex trafficking ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the estate slammed Edward Cascio and his three siblings, who are locked in a legal battle with the estate over claims they were sexually abused by MJ for years in the 1980s.

The estate said the Cascios were already paid massive settlements of $3.45M each, and "demanded the incredible sum of $213M in 2024.”

5/24/26 -- Attorney for the defendants, Morris Missry, tells TMZ ... “We have thoroughly reviewed Mr. Mayweather’s lawsuit. His claims against our clients are utterly baseless and refuted by substantial documentary evidence including Mr. Mayweather’s own correspondence."

"Our clients intend to vigorously defend against these claims and are confident that once all of the facts are presented in court, not only will our clients be vindicated, Mr Mayweather’s gambling issues, prolific spending habits, monies owed to third party creditors and IRS tax liens and levys, as well as other unseemly behavior will be exposed and we believe that Mr. Mayweather will be the one paying significant damages to our clients.”

10:15PM PT -- A source close to Rechnitz disputes the allegations entirely and says Mayweather’s financial, tax levy, and lien issues date back to at least 2018, years before they were ever involved professionally.

The source claims the boxer’s longstanding financial obligations and disputes were pre-existing and not caused by Rechnitz.

Floyd Mayweather says he got cleaned out to the tune of $175M ... claiming a former close associate ran a years-long scheme that allegedly drained his bank accounts, hijacked real estate deals, pawned off his jewelry and even made his private jet disappear.

According to a bombshell lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Floyd claims Jona Rechnitz spent years gaining his trust ... before allegedly becoming the boxer's de facto money manager, real estate guy and banking middleman.

Now, Mayweather says it was all one giant setup.

Erika Jayne won't be heading to trial in her monster $25 million legal war tied to ex-husband Tom Girardi ... because the whole thing was settled at the last minute.

Lawyers informed the judge Thursday the case had officially been resolved ... just days before jury selection was supposed to kick off.

The lawsuit stemmed from the collapse of Girardi's now-defunct law firm, Girardi Keese, with the bankruptcy trustee accusing Erika and her companies of burning through more than $25M in firm funds on glam expenses and personal bills.

Kim Zolciak’s boyfriend, Kyle Mowitz, denies spending like crazy on his 'Real Housewife' girlfriend, despite his estranged wife’s claims ... TMZ has learned.

Kyle scoffed at his ex Jillian Green’s claims during their bitter divorce battle, according to court docs obtained by TMZ that deny the “repeated accusation” by Jillian that Kyle's “spending is out of control and that he fails to pay the expenses for his family and children.”

The docs reiterate that it is "plainly false to state that [Kyle] uses his money primarily to pay for his own lifestyle and his girlfriend’s lifestyle.”

Kyle claims Jillian is the one racking up debt on her credit cards, which he says he pays for ... adding that his ex lives large and recently dropped $2,300 on a lavish hotel room.

A viral video claiming to show Ashlee Jenae being chased by her fiancé Joe McCann in a hotel before she was found dead in her room is nothing more than some A.I. generated slop ... at least according to Joe's legal team.

In a social media post that's picking up steam online, a woman is being chased by a bald man in what appears to be a hotel stairwell and hallway. The post claims to show new footage of Ashlee and Joe.

But Joe's attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, tells TMZ ... "This video is an atrocious deep fake. We are investigating who is responsible for peddling this garbage and will be taking forceful legal action."

Mackenzie Shirilla unloaded on her boyfriend Dominic Russo in a super toxic text chain years before she was convicted of murdering him ... and the messages offer a peek inside their strained relationship.

The text messages, obtained by TMZ, were part of the police investigation into Mackenzie's fatal car crash that killed Dominic and their friend, Davion Flanagan.

Mackenzie appears super emotional in her texts ... telling Dominic, "I'm gonna kill someone" ... "I j want to bang my head on the wall till I'm dead" ... and "THIS IS WHY I J WANNA F***ING KMS."

Mackenzie Shirilla’s aunt tried to defend her niece in her murder case ... telling the judge Mackenzie was in "very much in love" with her boyfriend before the fatal car crash ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained court docs filed as part of Mackenzie’s appeal of her sentence. She made the case that prosecutors failed to prove she had a real motive to kill her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend, Davion Flanagan.

Prosecutors used forensic evidence to show Mackenzie was driving a car that was going 100 mph and didn't apply the brakes before it slammed into a wall, killing Dominic and Davion, on July 31, 2022.

Matthew Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, is asking for some leniency at his upcoming sentencing ... telling the judge he could not "simply say no" when it came to feeding Perry's drug habit ... TMZ has learned.

In new court docs, obtained by TMZ, Kenneth, who is set to be scheduled on May 27, disagreed with prosecutors’ claim he could have told the "Friends" star “no” when he asked for ketamine.

As TMZ previously reported, Kenneth is facing years in prison for securing ketamine for Matthew and even injecting him with the drug on the day he died. Matthew died on October 28, 2023, from the acute effects of the drug.

Carl Welch -- the person who prosecutors claim "No Jumper" podcast cohost Ant Jefe murdered -- died of blunt force trauma in a parking lot ... TMZ has learned.

Prosecutors filed legal documents formally charging Jefe -- real name Maurice Shelmon -- and another man named Johnnie Gray with Welch's murder ... and the L.A. County Medical Examiner listed the cause of death and a few other details on their own site.

Prosecutors allege the crime went down on or about January 31 of this year ... and they also listed a series of previous charges for which Jefe was arrested -- including robbery.

Mackenzie Shirilla is "literal hell on wheels" -- at least that's how the judge felt about her role in the fatal car crash that killed Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan in 2022 -- but who is she, exactly?

Whether you've been following Mackenzie's case for years or are just now hearing the hype over Netflix's new documentary, "The Crash," we've rounded up everything you need to know.

Mackenzie was driving her then-boyfriend Dominic, and her friend Davion home around 5 AM on July 31, 2022 when she crashed her car into the brick wall of a building in Strongsville, Ohio.

Former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick is preparing for a different kinda court over some fake news ... saying anyone who reported she was joining OnlyFans will be hearing from her legal team.

The fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft sent social media into a frenzy this week ... when she claimed a "link" would be added to her bio in 24 hours.

"Link in bio," of course, is a popular phrase used by adult models on X or Instagram (or so we're told) ... leading some folks to think this meant she had created an account on the sometimes X-rated subscription-based platform, especially since she shared the news with a sexy pic.

Gabbie Gonzalez, her dad, and her boyfriend wanted proof Jack Avery was dead, prosecutors claim ... and allegedly asked for it in the form of his pinky finger.

The influencer accused of conspiracy to commit murder appeared in court for her arraignment Thursday ... where prosecutors laid out the grisly claim.

As you know ... Gabbie and her father Francisco were arrested earlier this week after cops say they tried to orchestrate the murder of Avery, with whom Gabbie was locked in a nasty custody dispute.

5/23 -- 1:47 PM PT -- Sources close to Bam tell us the roll-on product in question was CBD and doesn't contain any cannabis in it.

Bam Margera's ex is asking a judge not to change their custody arrangement ... claiming Bam's been in and out of their son's life in recent months -- and alleging in the order that he gave their son a roll-on device from his cannabis line, "BAM THC."

Nikki Boyd filed the documents in court earlier this week in response to Margera asking a judge to grant joint legal custody of their 8-year-old son, Phoenix ... telling the court that Bam hasn't been as present a father in the last six months as he's led them to believe.

Nikki's order states that Margera had 48 weekend days during which he could spend up to 4 supervised hours with Phoenix ... but she says he only visited on 7 of the 48 weekend days ... and only once stayed the full 4 hours!

11:13 AM PT -- We've obtained dashcam footage from Britney's March 4 arrest ... which shows cops questioning her after pulling her over for allegedly swerving through lanes.

Britney Spears allegedly told cops she'd taken Prozac and Adderall on the day of her shocking DUI arrest and told an officer she could drink four bottles of wine and still take care of him ... this according to the police report.

An officer laid out Spears' March 4 arrest in great detail in the report, starting from when he says he saw a car crossing into another lane multiple times before he turned on the sirens to pull the car over.

According to the report -- first obtained by Us Weekly -- when Spears finally pulled over, after the officer says she initially did not react to his emergency lights, the officer smelled the "distinct odor of an alcoholic beverage" and allegedly observed a wine glass in the car's cupholder.

Chrishell Stause just took some nasty jabs at Katharine McPhee on the heels of her and husband David Foster endorsing Spencer Pratt for Los Angeles mayor ... but sources close to Katharine and David are firing back.

A source close to the couple tells TMZ ... Chrishell needs to focus more on herself ... and less on attacking other women just to grab headlines.

As we reported ... the "Selling Sunset" star popped off about the movie and Broadway star ... writing in a TikTok comment on a video about McPhee's dating history that she's still struggling to find her inner confidence ... and she won't find it until she's "disregarded enough times by the problematic men she backs."

Jack Avery just spoke out for the first time since the mother of his daughter was charged with trying to get him killed ... and he had plenty to say.

The singer said in a lengthy Instagram message ... he's relieved his ex, TikTok influencer Gabbie Gonzalez, is in custody ... and he's been patient for the past few years as the legal process unfolded.

Jack said his daughter is with him and she is safe ... he also thanked law enforcement for their hard work and dedication to the case ... and also his fans for the support.