Legal

Julie Chrisley's attorney is slamming a federal judge's decision to resentence her to 7 years in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion charges ... chalking it all up to fame.

Jay Surgent, one of Julie's defense attorneys, tells TMZ he thinks the judge refusing to lower her sentence is the result of bias against celebrities. Julie is well-known by millions of people, and he thinks the judge is making an example out of her.

Surgent says Julie has been a model inmate and is not a threat to society in any way. Moving forward, we're told, Julie's legal team is definitely going to appeal the resentencing.

Diddy's lawyer offered a potential "explanation" for why the feds found a large stock of baby oil at the rapper's homes -- namely, buying in bulk at Costco, but the folks at Costco beg to differ.

A spokesperson for Costco tells TMZ ... none of the company's U.S. locations carry baby oil, even though Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo told us the rap mogul might have bought the item in bulk at the members-only warehouse retailer.

The proof is in the pudding, so to speak ... as a quick search of the store's site shows there's nothing akin to baby oil offered at Costco. There is, however, hair and cleansing gel sold for babies, but it'd be a stretch to confuse that with baby oil.

Mayor Eric Adams is facing some pretty serious charges ... with the U.S. Attorney just unsealing the indictment against him -- but, don't worry about him 'cause he looks downright cheery.

The U.S. Attorney's Office just unsealed the 57-page indictment ... and sent out an accompanying press release announcing they've charged the mayor with campaign finance, bribery and conspiracy charges.

According to the indictment, Damian Williams -- the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York -- claims Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits from foreign businesspeople and at least one government official from Turkey looking to gain influence over him.

MLB artifact hunters will still have the chance to bid on Shohei Ohtani's historic 50th home run ball on Friday ... despite a new lawsuit that's reportedly trying to halt the proceedings.

According to cllct's Darren Rovell, the suit was filed on Wednesday evening in Florida -- just hours after Ken Goldin revealed his auction house will put the ball up for sale at the end of this week with a starting bid of $500,000.

Rovell reported the plaintiff is an 18-year-old named Max Matus ... who's convinced he's the rightful owner of the baseball. Matus alleges in his suit, according to Rovell, that he had full control of the ball before Chris Belanski wrongfully stole it from him during a scrum.

Eric Adams is facing an indictment ... and, law enforcement has searched his official residence too -- swarming the place in an early morning raid caught on video.

Law enforcement agents arrived at the New York City Mayor's official residence Thursday morning -- Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side -- converging as a group before marching up the driveway to begin their search.

Watch the vid ... about a dozen agents in business attire congregate outside the building near a fleet of black SUVs -- at least one reportedly has a federal law enforcement parking placard on its dash.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is now facing federal criminal charges, after a grand jury indictment ... TMZ has confirmed.

Adams, now the first NYC mayor to ever be charged while in office, is planning to surrender next week, according to the NY Post. The charges, which are currently sealed, are in connection with a federal probe, and the indictment is expected to be unsealed Thursday morning.

Adams told the NY Post, "I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target -- and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit."

11:40 AM PT -- Teresa's attorney, Michael Garfinkel, tells TMZ, "Teresa's petition speaks for itself. Teresa is seeking to carry out Richard's wishes."

Richard Simmons' longtime housekeeper is petitioning to become co-trustee of his estate ... claiming Richard's brother pressured her to turn down the role while she was still grieving the fitness icon's death.

Teresa Reveles Muro -- who says she worked for Richard for nearly 40 years and was the one who found his body back in July -- filed a petition Wednesday ... claiming just days after Richard died, she, Richard's brother Leonard, and Leonard's wife Cathy went to view his body.

Right after this -- when Teresa says she was at her most vulnerable -- she says Leonard and Cathy took her to the office of the lawyers handling the trust, where she signed a document turning down the co-trustee role.

Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum can finally breathe a sigh of relief and move on with their lives, because their divorce has officially been settled -- 6 long years after the actress first filed.

Details of the settlement aren’t public, but TMZ has obtained the binding agreement they've signed -- and Jenna and Channing have hashed out their assets, decided who gets what, and even settled on a child support arrangement.

Now, all they need is a judge's stamp of approval to wrap up this saga and put their lengthy drama to bed.

People are buzzing about the massive quantity of baby oil found when the feds raided Diddy's homes in Beverly Hills and Miami, and his lawyer is offering up an explanation.

Attorney Marc Agnifilo appears in a new TMZ Studios documentary -- "The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment" -- which is dropping soon on Tubi.

Agnifilo has a different view of Diddy's "Freak Offs" than the U.S. Attorney. Agnifilo says there were typically threesomes, with Diddy, Cassie and another male.

50 Cent is nearing the final lap of his damning Diddy doc -- and he's reworking the logo of the much-ballyhooed baby oil confiscated by the feds ... labeling it "Diddy Oil"!!!

Of course, 50's not mass-producing the baby oil himself -- he shared a meme on Wednesday to pad the latest announcement that filmmaker Alex Stapleton would be directing and co-executive-producing the documentary project.

In another post, 50 doubled down on the point that he's a notorious Diddy detractor ... "I been telling y’all about all this weird s***, I don’t do NO puffy party’s. you didn’t believe me 🤨but I bet you believe me now!!!"

Diddy’s sitting behind bars over serious allegations, and suddenly his network of friends is back in the spotlight.

As you can see, some celeb sightings with the disgraced rapper are no-brainers, but others might raise eyebrows -- like his hangouts with Prince Harry and Prince William. Oh, and let’s not forget he’s crossed paths with Donald Trump a few times too.

Now, Trump has always had a knack for hanging out with some eyebrow-raising characters ... so the MAGA crowd's probably not sweating those pics of him cozying up to Diddy.

Bam Margera has officially been released from jail ... and is heading straight into treatment to get his life back on track, TMZ has learned.

The "Jackass" star's lawyer, Michael T. van der Veen, tells TMZ it was a court victory for Bam Wednesday ... adding he's on the right track to reclaiming his successful career and his wonderful life with his wife, Dannii Marie, once he wraps up his short-term treatment.

Sources tell us Bam's going directly to Recovery Centers of America for Inpatient Treatment, and his case can officially be closed once his treatment is over -- but a bench warrant will be issued if any noncompliance with his treatment is reported.

5:15 PM PT -- The State of Missouri followed through with the execution by lethal injection, and Marcellus Williams was pronounced dead at 6:10 PM CT.

Busta Rhymes is going to bat for a Missouri man who's scheduled to be executed later today -- but hip hop's Dungeon Dragon insists the state's ignoring evidence as time runs out.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained video of Busta's PSA on behalf of Marcellus Williams, the inmate whose life is at the mercy of Gov. Mike Parson ... who could still issue a stay of execution. However, he recently rejected the inmate's clemency request for life in prison.

Busta passionately argues the DNA evidence prosecutors later discovered should be more than enough to vacate Williams' execution, and facts -- not politics -- should guide Gov. Parson to seek justice.

3:55 PM PT -- Artem's attorney Dmitry Gorin of Eisner Gorin LLP tells TMZ ... "Mr. Chigvintsev has maintained his innocence from the beginning. He is grateful that the district attorney accurately assessed what took place, and determined he should not be charged."

He continues, "He enjoys tremendous support from the community, and requests privacy for the pending divorce matter. He loves his son, wants the best possible for him, and looks forward to the next chapter in his life professionally and as a father."

Artem Chigvintsev will NOT be prosecuted after his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence.

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced Tuesday her office declined to file criminal charges against the "Dancing With The Stars" pro in connection with last month's arrest.

Prosecutors say they decided not to pursue criminal charges after reviewing the investigation and evaluating all the evidence.

Diddy's seven children are still firmly in their father's corner despite his arrest, indictment and some serious allegations against him.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … all of Diddy’s kids are supportive of him and stand behind him, adding they love their dad and think he's a great father.

We're told all Diddy's sons and daughters have wonderful relationships with him and will continue to maintain those relationships ... even though he's in custody after being indicted on sex trafficking, kidnapping and racketeering charges.

Diddy is being sued for rape and now his latest accuser and her attorney, Gloria Allred, are speaking out against the music mogul.

Gloria and Diddy's accuser, Thalia Graves, held a news conference Tuesday in L.A. ... just hours after she filed a lawsuit against Diddy, alleging he raped her back in 2001 at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City.

She almost immediately started sobbing as she told the media about the trauma -- physical and mental -- she says she's suffered since the alleged rape.

TMZ broke the story ... Graves claims she was 25 years old and dating one of Diddy's Bad Boy executives in '01 when Diddy lured her to his personal lounge, and office and raped her on a pool table after slipping something in her drink that altered her consciousness.