Money

Former "American Idol" star Syesha Mercado dropped her manager like a bad habit as soon she landed a big gig doing "The Book of Mormon" ... allegedly stiffing him out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mercado -- who finished third on Season 7 -- is being sued by former manager Fred Crawford, who picked her up as a client not too long after her stint on "Idol."

Crawford claims Mercado agreed to fork over 20% of whatever she made in the entertainment industry. Crawford says he helped her land the "Book of Mormon" deal ... for which she earned $40,000 a month.

But Crawford claims right after the ink dried Mercado cut off all communication and never paid him a cent. He's suing for his "Mormon" cut -- roughly $300,000.

Crawford has a big problem ... the deal, he says, was never committed to writing.

Kaley Cuoco just picked up Khloe Kardashian's old house in Tarzana -- and it ain't gonna pay for itself -- so now the "Big Bang Theory" star is unloading her old one.

As TMZ first reported, Cuoco snatched up KK and Lamar Odom's old 7-bedroom 8,000 sq. ft. home for $5.49 million -- quite an upgrade from the Sherman Oaks spot Cuoco just listed.

Her old place is a piddly 5,233 sq. ft. ... with 5 bedrooms and 5 baths -- and her asking price $2.795 million... only slight bump from the $2.4 mil she paid for it.

Justin Bieber doesn't get drugs from his mom for free -- TMZ has learned, the singer has been paying rent for his mother's secret L.A. mansion since 2012 ... and the place is sweeeeeeeet.

No one ever knew JB's mom Pattie Mallette had a place in L.A. ... let alone one so badass.

Turns out ... the tree doesn't fall far from the apple, because Pattie got herself into some trouble over the 2,900 square foot house.

Seems Pattie wanted to do some home improvement in her home gym but never got the permission of her landlord. She had a mirror installed last summer, but didn't pay the bill. So the company that did the work has filed a lien against the property ... and her landlord was none too pleased.

The lien was for a modest $3,414. We're told Pattie thought she was being overcharged and refused to pay. Pattie settled up a week ago for around $2,600. And TMZ informed the landlord Friday and he was PISSED!

As for who's paying the $8,000 monthly rent ... we've learned one of Justin's companies is handling it.

"Big Brother" champ Mike "Boogie" Malin needs to go on "Jeopardy" and win more than 3 times what Ken Jennings scored ... just so he can pay off an enormous court judgment.

The Boogie man was just socked with a $10.5 MILLION judgment ... which is what happens when you stiff your landlord for 8 years.

Boogie and his partner opened an ATL restaurant -- Geisha House -- along with a nearby bowling alley. But they forgot one small detail on the first of every month ... something that generally gets you evicted very quickly.

For some reason the landlord was patient ... lying in wait for the tab to go sky high. The boom was lowered with the $10.5 million judgment.

Break out the Bud Light and the cheez whiz ... the cast of "Party Down South" is celebrating 'cause their network just folded like a cheap suit and they scored HUGE pay raises ... TMZ has learned.

As we've reported, the 8 cast members had demanded 1,400% pay raises -- from a measly $500 an episode to $7,500 -- but CMT refused to budge ... until now.

We're told everyone settled on a 400% increase -- to $2,000 an episode. But CMT sweetened the pot by giving the cast a ratings bonus, and it's likely they'll collect on it ... the show is the most successful ever on the network.

So CMT announced Friday the show is officially coming back for Season 2.

You know what that means -- more backyard pee parties!

Heather Locklear is a little shaken over John Mayer's lawsuit ... claiming a big time watch dealer sold him counterfeit Rolexes ... because she got a Rolex from the same dude.

Locklear's ex-hubby Richie Sambora tells TMZ ... he bought her a 1962 Rose Gold Female Presidential Rolex back in 2001, while they were married.

Sambora -- fresh off a tour in Australia -- says the seller was none other than Bob Maron, who he described as "very knowledgeable, likable and kind." He tells TMZ, "When you order a Rolex, you expect to a real Rolex. Just like when you order a Coke, you expect and pay for the real thing! All I can tell you is ... I paid for the real thing."

Mayer certainly doesn't feel that way. He's suing Maron for around $600K, claiming 7 of the watches he bought had counterfeit parts. As we first reported, however, Mayer posted several years before he was actually in the market for counterfeit Rolexes.

As for Locklear ... we're told she's worried the watch might be a fake, so she's taking it to a professional to get it authenticated. Our sources say Locklear also wants to get it done to help protect anyone else who may have been swindled.

Locklear has an emotional attachment to the watch because it has "great sentimental value."

Johnny Weir has been gracious about his divorce from husband Victor Simon Weir-Voronov ... but TMZ Sports has learned the breakup is not just bitter ... it's vicious, with allegations of a shakedown.

Sources connected with Johnny tell TMZ Sports ... on Wednesday Victor's people called Johnny's lawyer and said a media outlet had contacted them offering money for an interview. Johnny's people say Victor's lawyer said his client would turn down the interview IF Johnny paid him $25,000 for lawyers fees, plus support.

Victor's people admit they did mention the interview and asked for support ... but the 2 were not connected.

And there's more. Victor claims Johnny blindsided him ... that he found out only Tuesday Johnny filed for divorce. But sources connected with Johnny say Victor is lying.

We know Victor is already on his second divorce lawyer. Johnny's people say that doesn't sound like a guy who just found out.

The gloves are off in the fight between Rihanna and her ex-accountant -- the money man is now firing back in their legal battle over $9 million the singer claims she lost on his watch ... calling her a financially impaired moron.

Accountant Peter Gounis filed the response to Rihanna's lawsuit, insisting he was hired to record and manage her financial accounts -- NOT give her rudimentary spending advice.

Gounis claims Rihanna blew through millions of her own money by going on endless shopping sprees -- buying roomfuls of designer shoes, clothes, and jewelry -- and throwing extravagant parties for herself. He also claims she bailed on an expensive tour to shoot "Battleship," which turned out to be a massive failure.

And despite Rihanna's accusations, Gounis insists he never directed Rihanna to buy a dilapidated house.

But even ignoring all that, Gounis says, "Was it really necessary to tell her that if you spend money for things you will end up with the things, and not the money?"

Gounis wants Rihanna's lawsuit thrown out.

Frank Ocean acted like he was hot sauce, but really ... he's mild.

As TMZ first reported, Chipotle sued Ocean, claiming they paid him the $212,500 as an advance to record a song for one of their commercials ... and then he bailed. Ocean responded to the suit by posting a photo to Tumblr of the settlement check ... with "F*** OFF" in the memo box.

But we found out ... Ocean didn't have the guac to carry through on his gangster move. A rep for Chipotle tells TMZ the settlement check they received from Ocean did NOT have the expletive in the memo line.

Teri Reeves was killed off in season one of the NBC show "Chicago Fire" and TMZ has learned her marriage is now DOA as well.

According to divorce docs obtained by TMZ, Reeves and hubby Jonathan separated back in September after eight years of marriage. Teri was the one who finally pulled the plug and filed for divorce.

Reeves is asking the court to deny her estranged husband the right to file for support. The couple has no children and no community property to divvy up.

Charlie Sheen is BLASTING John Mayer for claiming he was defrauded by someone who sold him counterfeit Rolexes ... saying Mayer made a fortune off the watches and now just has a bad case of buyer's remorse.

TMZ broke the story ... Mayer is suing Bob Maron, a leading watch dealer, who sold the singer $5 million worth of watches ... and Mayer claims some had counterfeit parts.

Sheen says Mayer is hiding something -- that he re-sold a number of the watches for a HUGE profit. Charlie -- also a big-time watch collector -- tells TMZ, "WAIT!! Mayer spent $5M with Maron and is crying about $600K?!? Ask him how he did on the $4.4M...! Sorry that 7 of your 100 watches aren't to your liking! boohoo!! "

TMZ also reported Mayer posted on a Rolex message board back in 2007 that he was specifically looking for Rolexes with counterfeit parts, and Maron's lawyer says this is PROOF the singer is lying through his teeth when he claims he didn't know what he was buying.

John Mayer knew EXACTLY what he was getting when he bought Rolex watches that he now claims are fakes ... because he actually boasted on a message board he knew they were fakes ... this according to the lawyer for the watch dealer he's suing.

TMZ broke the story ... Mayer is suing Robert Maron, claiming he bought $5 million worth of Rolexes from him and some had counterfeit parts.

But TMZ has gotten hold of a letter Maron's lawyer, Eric George, sent to Mayer's attorney before the lawsuit was filed. In the letter, George quotes a Mayer posting on a Rolex message board in 2007 stating he knew a certain type of Rolex -- called a Flat Dial -- contained "counterfeit" parts and some purists believed they were not true Rolexes.

But Mayer made it clear on the message board, he didn't care and wanted to snatch up as many flat dials as he could, saying, "Anyone who wants to sell me one of these watches can get these fake pieces off their hands and make a killing on it."

Mayer adds, "I will even accept a letter from you as a dealer releasing you from any liability in having sold me a counterfeit dial. I will be buying these as counterfeits."

The upshot ... George says Mayer went into his dealings with Maron eyes wide open, and claiming now that he had no idea the pieces had "counterfeit" dials is just B.S.

He's already packed up the moving trucks ... he's pretty much hammered out his egging case ... but Justin Bieber still has one enormous loose end to tie up before he can bail on L.A. -- a bill for $85,000.

As we reported, Khloe Kardashian has purchased Bieber's Calabasas mansion, paving the way for his big move to ATL. The deal is expected to close next week, but there's one big problem -- TMZ has learned, there's a mechanics lien against the home.

A construction company filed the lien, claiming it performed $85,011 worth of damage repair services on Justin's house and it still hasn't been paid -- which is a big problem ... because a home cannot be sold until all liens against it have been settled or paid.

If Bieber doesn't cough up the money by next week, we're told the sale can't go through.

Sources close to Bieber tell us, the singer's camp plans to deal with the issue asap. Luckily, he can probably afford it.

Sam Cassell has something in common with John Mayer -- they both bought expensive watches from the same guy ... a guy accused of selling FAKES ... and now the former NBA star tells TMZ Sports he's bringing in experts to see if he got ripped off.

We broke the story ... Mayer is suing Charlie Sheen's BFF Robert Maron -- claiming he bought $5 million worth of Rolex watches from the guy ... some of which turned out NOT to be 100% authentic.

Cassell tells TMZ Sports he also bought a watch from Maron -- "It's an A. Lange & Sohne. It cost me a nice piece of change."

Sam wouldn't say how much he spent on the watch -- but A. Lange & Sohne pieces can run upwards of $150k.

Cassell says he was introduced to Maron by his former Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy -- and bought the watch from him because he offered the lowest price in town.

"What am I thinking ... this guys gonna rip me off? No. Mike got watches from him also. But at the same time, Mike's a basketball coach, not a jeweler."

Sam says he's now sending the watch to an expert to analyze the timepiece ... and says, "If it comes back fake, I'm going to the Dept. of Justice!"

Mark Cuban wasn't joking when he promised a "Shark Tank" entrepreneur he'd get his product into Mavs gift shops -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned U-Lace is planning to drop at American Airlines Arena beginning next season.

We spoke with Tim Talley -- who got Mark to invest $200k into his customizable shoe lace business on a recent episode of "Shark Tank."

Talley says sales have exploded since Mark came aboard -- and so far, Cuban has been dead serious about delivering on the promises he made on the show, starting with the plan to sell at Dallas Mavericks team shops.

"We'll likely get the laces into the arena early next season," Talley says ... adding that U-Lace is also gunning for deals with other NBA teams ... as well as organizations in the NFL, MLB and NHL.

Talley says the company is also developing shoes to go along with the laces.

Makes sense to us.

Paul Walker's mother just filed court documents asking for guardianship of Paul's 15-year-old daughter ... because the real mom has a serious drinking problem.

Cheryl Walker claims in her docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Meadow and her mom, Rebecca Soteros, are already living with her but Rebecca can't care for her daughter because of her alcoholism.

As we previously reported ... Rebecca has 2 DUIs -- one in 2003 and another last year. We're told Meadow moved from Hawaii -- where Rebecca lived -- to live with Paul 3 years before he died because of her mom's problems with alcohol.

Cheryl says she's more than qualified -- she's raised 4 kids, she's a registered nurse and is a loving person.

Paul had said in his will he wanted his mom to be Meadow's guardian ... so this is clearly in line with what he wanted.