Money

Reality TV can pull you out of bankruptcy and get you a $3 million house next to Justin Bieber ... all in 6 MONTHS ... and Toni Braxton's living proof.

Real estate sources tell TMZ, Toni -- whose reality show "Braxton Family Values" is already on its third season -- just purchased a mansion for close to $3 million in Calabasas' exclusive gated community The Oaks ... just a few houses down from Justin.

The house is 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and measures 5,323 sq. ft.

Technically, it's the smallest house in the neighborhood ... but still, not too bad for someone who was dead ass broke less than a year ago.

Toni's real estate purchase has to sting for her old creditors -- as we reported, when Braxton filed for bankruptcy in 2010 (for the second time) she claimed debts as high as $50,000,000 ... and only ended up repaying a tiny fraction of that before the debts were cleared entirely.

Only in America ...

The Charlie Sheen charity train chugs on ... TMZ has learned, the "Anger Management" star just donated an $8,000 pitching machine to a high school in L.A.

Sources tell TMZ, one of the baseball coaches at Santa Monica High School is an old friend of Charlie's ... so the actor decided to chip in and help his pal's team practice with a HomePlate Sports Tutor pitching machine ... an impressive piece of equipment that costs roughly $8,000-$9,000.

Lil Za and Justin Bieber are still roomies --- TMZ has learned Za is NOT moving out ... and is NOT being forced out of Bieber's Calabasas home ... despite his arrest for drug possession.

There was speculation Bieber ordered Za to pack his bags and move out ... after Za was spotted at a hotel near JB's house immediately after the arrest.

But sources close to Za tell us he was only visiting his mom, who flew in from Texas following his drug bust -- and chose to crash at a hotel instead of Beiber's pad.

Za's girlfriend -- Atifa Barwany -- also came out from Texas. She's the chick who's been tooling around Bieber's house on Segways with Za.

A man's home is someone else's castle.

Apollo Nida -- facing federal charges for bank fraud and identity theft -- habitually spent thousands of dollars on booze and strippers ... but says that's no crime because he only spent HIS money.

Nida told his castmates on last night's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" episode ... he routinely hit up nudie bars after he got out of prison in 2009 ... and would brazenly put receipts totaling thousands of dollars on the counter for his wife to see.

According to Nida ... his wife, Phaedra Parks, accepted his costly stripper habit.

We'll see if the the feds are as understanding. As we reported, investigators have accused Nida of creating fake companies and phony bank accounts ... and funneling millions into those accounts.

The guy who claims he wrote the movie, "Trouble With the Curve," only to have it stolen out from under him, now says he has CSI-type evidence proving the guy who's getting credit boldly LIED about writing the script before him.

Ryan Brooks has sued Randy Brown, claiming he and others stole a script Brooks wrote, entitled "Omaha" ... tinkered with it, and then renamed it "Trouble With the Curve."

Brown claims he wrote the script on his own way back in 1997. But now Brooks has filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- in which he claims his team of high-tech forensic experts has picked apart data from Brown's floppy disks which contain notes and manuscripts, which Brooks says have telltale signs of manipulation.

-- The disks themselves were created between 1999 and 2001.

-- The floppies are sloppy ... The operating system that saved the manuscript wasn't created until AFTER 1997, which Brooks says is clear FRAUD.

-- One of the disks contains a folder named "Trouble w/ Curve" and that was created in 1993. Brooks says it makes no sense if Brown says he didn't even come up with the idea til 1996.

It's not just pride that's on the line on Sunday, 'cause the mayors of Denver and Seattle have just made an OFFICIAL SUPER BOWL bet ... and if the Seahawks lose, it's gonna get real fishy in the Mile High City.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Seattle mayor Ed Murray and Denver mayor Michael B. Hancock have just agreed to the terms of a S.B. bet.

Here's what's at stake:

If the Seahawks win ... Hancock (Denver) has agreed to wear a costume inspired by the Macklemore song, "Thrift Shop" ... since Macklemore is a bigtime Seattle guy.

Hancock says the costume will be designed by the Lifelong AIDS Alliance ... and he says he'll also send over some other Denver-themed items that will be auctioned off to raise money to the LAA.

If the Broncos win ... Murray (Seattle) says he'll ship salmon and Dungeness crab to Denver. Plus, he'll wear Broncos pajamas in public to raise awareness for Denver's Road Home, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness.

Quentin Tarantino isn't taking kindly to Gawker posting a link to his latest screenplay, "The Hateful Eight" -- which leaked online last week -- in fact, he just SUED the website ... accusing it of hitting him where it really hurts ... his wallet.

Tarantino's lawsuit reads, "Gawker Media has made a business of predatory journalism, violating people’s rights to make a buck ... This time they went too far."

Rather than reporting the story of the "Hateful Eight" screenplay leak, Tarantino claims Gawker went out of its way to publish the full script ... and even relished in it ... encouraging its audience to read the script illegally.

Tarantino is suing for copyright infringement.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones is being sued for allegedly SABATOGING a Super Bowl afterparty in New Orleans last year by running late ... problem is, he was all tied up because he was PLAYING IN THE SUPER BOWL!!!

Jones is being sued by After Party Entertainment, which claims JJ agreed to attend a party at the House of Blues in New Orleans on the night of the SB from 11pm to 1am.

In the suit, APE says it paid Jones handsomely -- PLUS sprung for flights, hotel rooms and gifts for Jones and 20 of his closest friends.

But APE says Jones had the nerve to arrive to the party an hour and 15 minutes LATE that night ... and arrived with 40 people in tow, instead of 20. He also demanded that his entire party get in for free.

Plus, APE also says Jones only hung out with his friends that night instead of mingling ... and never promoted the party on Instagram or Twitter, as he promised.

Here's the problem ... Jones was playing in the frickin' Super Bowl earlier that evening -- a Super Bowl that was DELAYED 34 minutes because of a freak power outage. The game didn't end 'til 10:45 pm.

Plus, Jones was also probably tied up by the media ... who were hammering the guy about his record-setting 108-yard touchdown run which played a crucial role in the Ravens victory.

Still, APE is demanding $192k in damages -- plus attorney's fees.

Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen tells TMZ Sports ... just because he makes a fortune doesn't mean he pays for team dinners -- in fact, it often comes down to CREDIT CARD ROULETTE.

The reigning National League MVP (who signed a $51.5 mil contract in 2012) was in NY and told our photog he's happy to cover family 100% of the time -- and even rookies get a free meal every now and then -- but when it comes to his highly paid teammates, luck often dictates who gets stuck with the bill.

For the record, credit card roulette is super popular with athletes -- everyone gives their card to the server, who then picks one at random ... and that unlucky S.O.B. pays for the entire check, tip included.

Cutch, who recently proposed to his GF on the "Ellen" show, also admits the one downside of being engaged ... he often gets "stuck" watching his fiancee's favorite show -- the Kardashians.

Jenni Rivera's former manager is on a rampage after the late singer's family published Jenni's biography -- claiming she's the REAL author ... and now, the manager wants at least $10 million.

Laura Lucio filed a lawsuit against Jenni's estate and family, claiming she managed Jenni since 2004 ... and during that time, she and Jenni co-authored the singer's bio --- "Mi Vida Loca" ("My Crazy Life").

Laura claims the book had several publish dates which were pushed back for different reasons -- and Jenni's sudden death in a freak plane crash in 2012 ultimately derailed the project.

Fast forward to July 2013 -- Laura claims Jenni's family somehow found the book on Jenni's computer and published it under a new title "Unbreakable" ... without so much as consulting Laura, let alone paying her.

Laura claims 95% of the book is her writings -- and under the deal she struck with Jenni, she's owed 40% of the book's profits. So far, Laura claims she's gotten squat.

Laura's now suing for at least $10,000,000. A rep for Jenni's estate says the family plans to fight the lawsuit.

What do you get when you mix the most popular DJs in Australia, tons of booze, bad ass parties, a music video and a kangaroo -- one big, fat lawsuit.

Cash Money Records artists The Stafford Brothers were smacked with the lawsuit this week ... after owners of a dope pad they rented in Studio City sued them for allegedly leaving it in shambles.

The owners claim the group threw lots of parties -- including one for their music video "Hello" featuring Lil Wayne -- violating the lease and wrecking the joint by:

-- "Illegal" service of alcohol

-- Pouring liquid nitrogen in the house

-- Installing a skate ramp

-- Allowing a LIVE KANGAROO to roam the house

The owners want the group to ante up more than $100k -- plus another $25K in punitive damages to teach them a lesson.

Side note: the kangaroo party looks AWESOME!!

Rack city bitch, rack rack city bitch ... is what Tyga's former jeweler is more than likely saying -- after a judge ordered the rapper to pay the guy over 200k this week for stealing his jewelry.

We broke the story ... Tyga was sued last year by Jason of Beverly Hills -- a famous jeweler who said Tyga never paid $91k for diamond and gold jewelry back in 2012 (a pantheon timepiece and a chain; pictured below). He also wanted a late fee ... which doubled the amount.

Tyga tried downplaying the story when the lawsuit was filed, tweeting, "I don't f*k with #bitchn**gas @jasonofbh" ... however, a judge feels like he did eff with Jason ... and entered a default judgement against him.

Total judgment: : $208,334.47

Tyga's rep insists this is "all a misunderstanding" and claims they're working to rectify the issue.

Ten, ten, ten, twenties and the fifties.

Partying with Justin Bieber on the night he gets arrested pays BIG MONEY -- his model GF could make a quick $25,000 if she's down with strippers and inspiring erections ... TMZ has learned.

Chantel Jeffries, the smoke show who was riding with JB in the Lambo ... just got the juicy offer from NYC's famous Scores strip club. We've seen the offer letter, and honestly ... it's a pretty sweet deal.

According to the letter, Chantel would host "a few" webcam events from home, and the pros would do the heavy lifting -- as in, Scores strippers get naked and dance ... while Chantel just plays middle-woman between the girls and the dudes online looking to get off.

Kinda like a virtual madam.

Apollo Nida -- husband of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra Parks -- has been charged with almost unbelievably bold identity theft ... that has now landed him in a federal criminal case.

Nida apparently caught the eye of the Secret Service's Counterfeit and U.S. Treasury Check Squad.

The alleged scheme is sinister. He supposedly created fake companies which then allowed him to access various databases that had information about people whose identity he flat out stole.

He then allegedly opened fake bank accounts in the names of the victims and then somehow got hold of stolen U.S. Treasury checks, stolen retirement checks from Delta Airline employees and checks that were supposed to go to people who had unclaimed tax money.

Nida has been charged with bank fraud and identity theft and has already appeared in federal court.

And in case you didn't know ... Apollo's wife, Phaedra, is a lawyer. That should come in handy.

Khloe Kardashian's divorce isn't all bad -- TMZ has learned, she and Lamar Odom just dumped their massive marital mansion for a HUGE profit ... and now it's a "Big Bang Theory" star's problem.

As we first reported, Khloe and Lamar listed the 7-bedroom 8,000 sq. ft. Tarzana home last year for $4 million ... shortly before Khloe filed for divorce. They bought the house for $3.95 million in 2009.

Now, sources tell us, the home has sold for $5.49 million ... nearly $1.5 million more than the asking price. We're told Khloe's now looking for a new place near her mom in Hidden Hills.

Keyshawn Johnson has just shed 140 unwanted pounds ... because he's officially moving far away from Justin Bieber ... and sadly for her, Kourtney Kardashian is gaining 140 lbs.

Our real estate spies tell us ... Kourtney paid just over $8.4 million for Keyshawn's 6-bedroom 9-bathroom 11,746 sq. ft. home in The Oaks -- located just blocks away from Bieber's Calabasas compound. The deal will close in less than 2 weeks.

We're told Keyshawn's move has nothing to do with Bieber, but we know Keyshawn despises the kid and has had numerous run-ins, the latest of which was a nuclear fight with Justin's bodyguards outside the singer's house the night of the egging incident.