Money

Loretta Powell -- known for representing the U.S. in the 1959 Miss World pageant -- came home one day to find her tenant throwing her stuff out and renovating the place ... after allegedly scamming her out of the deed to her property.

The story's pretty crazy, but law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Powell -- now in her late 80s -- met a man named David Lee Jones in 2014 while getting some tests at the hospital, and soon afterward he began renting a room she had available in her L.A.-area home.

Three years later in July 2017, Loretta called police on Jones, claiming he was slowly destroying the house she built and lived in for many years ... and she didn't know how to stop him.

We're told cops questioned Jones, who claimed he owned the $1.9 million home because Loretta signed it over to him, and turns out he was right -- but allegedly because he got her to sign the paperwork after she had hip surgery in 2016 while she was doped up on morphine.

Our sources say cops arrested Jones the next day, and he was ultimately charged with theft from elder, a felony. He's also facing a charge of vandalism of property worth more than $400.

And, get this -- cops discovered Lee was a man of many names, using a handful of aliases over the years.

His trial's set to begin this week.

The house of All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert -- located on the property where he was mysteriously found dead -- might be on the foreclosure market soon.

As we reported ... the body of the heavy metal band's co-founder was discovered in a pond near his Connecticut home on October 16. Cops were dispatched to his residence after his wife reported him missing, and after searching the area ... found Herbert reportedly facedown in inches deep water at the edge of the pond.

According to reports ... the rocker hadn't paid the mortgage on his $132k home months before his death and, in June, docs were filed as a notice of foreclosure. Herbert didn't contest it, and last week attorneys for the mortgage company filed docs to immediately repossess the home.

His wife, Elizabeth, reportedly still lives there.

Herbert's death was ruled "undetermined" by the state's Chief Medical Examiner, who said it would remain that way unless new information is revealed.

Cops are still investigating.

Herbert was one of the founders of ATR and was their lead guitarist for 20 years at the time of his death. The band announced they'd likely name his permanent replacement in 2019.

Oli was 44.

Paris Hilton's not mincing words anymore -- she says the $2 million engagement ring she got from Chris Zylka is hers to keep ... and he didn't spend a dime on it, anyway.

We got Paris at LAX Wednesday and asked her to clarify recent comments she made, suggesting the jeweler who provided the ring got millions in free publicity ... so it's going to stay with her.

Now she's going a step further, emphatically telling us ... "It's mine." She also says it was free in the first place ... implying Chris didn't actually buy it so he has no claim to it.

As we've told you ... after Zylka proposed to Paris, the story was he bought the ring -- which features a massive 20-carat diamond that took about 4 months to cut.

But, Paris now says that was never the case, and according to her ... she's paid for the ring via social media promotion and whatnot.

Not sure that will hold up in the court of law, but until we hear more from Zylka or the jeweler ... we know where to find the ring.

Grab your tissues ... this tearjerker's brought to you by Kansas City Royals prospect Brady Singer who surprised his parents with a VERY expensive gift that'll earn him an award for Son of the Year.

Singer posted this video on Christmas Day ... which begins with Singer's mom opening a red envelope. She starts reading Singer's heartfelt letter ... and if it doesn't give you all the feels, nothing else will. Singer's mom reads out loud: "I just wanna say thank you for everything you've done to help me reach my dreams ... Both of you constantly took off of work and spent every dime you made just to put a smile on my face."

Then ... her jaw drops. SINGER WIPED OUT THEIR ENTIRE DEBT!!!

Singer was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the 18th overall pick earlier this summer. He's a right-handed pitcher with huge potential ... which explains why the Royals paid him $4.25 million to sign with them instead of returning to Florida.

Another sign the Royals wanted Singer badly? They paid him well above the slot value of an 18th overall pick. Yeah, he's that good. And, he's a byproduct of his parents' hard work and sacrifices ... which is why Singer wanted to SHOCK them with an incredible gesture.

12/25 -- 21 Savage has also apologized ... saying, "the Jewish people I know are very wise with [their] money so that's why I said we been gettin Jewish money. I never thought anyone would take offense. I'm sorry if I offended everybody. Never my intention. I love all people."

LeBron James busted out a big "Sleecha" to Jewish people on Sunday -- after posting a photo on Instagram with the caption, "Getting that Jewish money."

Long story short, LeBron says he thought it was a "compliment" to Jews.

James was actually quoting a lyric from the 21 Savage rap song "ASMR" -- but there was a backlash online from people who felt someone as famous and powerful as LeBron shouldn't be pushing old Anti-Semitic stereotypes.

"Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone," James told ESPN ... "That's not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That's what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the byproduct of it."

"So, I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn't through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody."

Despite LeBron's intent, there have been hundreds of books and articles written over the years about why the "Jews and Money" stereotype is a dangerous one.

Quite simply, it's been used a rallying cry to fuel anti-Semitism for hundreds of years.

Post Malone took advantage of some deep, deep discounts hours before Christmas Day ... hitting up a Target and getting some super sweet deals.

P.M. had his eyes on electronics at the Salt Lake City store ... just after 4 PM on Xmas Eve. He was there with a woman ... eyewitnesses say it's his GF.

Post was the beneficiary of the last-minute sales and plunked down more than $200 on stuff.

Travis Scott is really feeling his Astroworld tour ... because the "SICKO MODE" rapper is immortalizing his set design with an insane new piece of bling!

We're told Travis dropped around $450,000 on this incredibly detailed chain and pendant. It's pretty much the bling equivalent of his concert layout, complete with his mug in the middle of a Ferris wheel and the tracks of his roller coaster stage design.

These ain't space rocks. Our sources say the pendant and chain feature 150 carats of VS diamonds and over 1,000 grams of gold!

Travis commissioned Eliantte to design and create the sick bling, and the celeb jeweler personally delivered it before Travis' show at The Forum. That's the kind of customer service $450k gets ya!

As you can see ... the diamond and gold chain forms the tracks of the roller coaster Travis rides at his shows. The piece even has a diamond rocket ship, and it opens!

Safe to say Travis is gonna be the biggest baller at the Super Bowl!

Adrien Broner is rocking over a million dollars worth of bling, but he's never paid for his ice because he bounced checks to the jeweler and still owes the bill ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Pristine Jewelers NY says the boxing star promised to pay for multiple jewelry orders totaling $1.252 MILLION, but his checks haven't cleared and he's refusing to follow through on a payment plan.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Adrien told the jeweler he would pay for his bling after his April fight against Jessie Vargas, but the jeweler has only been able to collect $100k from Broner ... leaving an unpaid balance of $1.152 million.

It's been over a year since Broner first ordered his bling, and Pristine wants the boxer to pay up now and throw in another MILLION in punitive damages.

Broner has a big payday in his future, because he's fighting Manny Pacquiao January 19 in Vegas. Problem is ... the jeweler claims Adrien has already stiffed them after one big fight.

Offset hit up a casino Saturday night in Puerto Rico, making the most of his vacation and apparent reconciliation with Cardi B.

Offset and a friend played craps at the Sheraton Convention Center in San Juan. Eyewitnesses tell TMZ, the Migos rapper was betting $10k on each roll of the dice. He plunked down $60k. Offset won some, but lost more.

The night before Offset was backstage as Cardi B performed at the same Convention Center.

It sure seems like the ice has thawed ... after Cardi proclaimed 3 weeks ago her marriage was over.

We got these pics of Cardi B and Offset jet skiing in San Juan during the trip, and she's holding on tight.

Leave it to Banksy to take Paris Hilton's first album and turn it into a work of art so coveted, it's fetching more than $2,000 on the auction block!!!

The street artist totally reimagined Paris' self-titled 2006 album, complete with spoofed song titles and a topless Hilton on the cover, plus tons of not-so-subtle digs at Paris inside the CD booklet.

According to RR Auction, Banksy re-interpreted about 500 copies of "Paris" immediately after the album dropped, and placed his work in 48 record stores across the United Kingdom. Bids for the rare copy have already surpassed its $2k estimate!

With Bansky spoofing album art and track titles, he enlisted DJ Danger Mouse to remix the tunes ... and, we gotta say, it still bumps.

Check out the gallery ... we're guessing Paris' exposed breast on the cover will draw your eye, but the real fun is inside the booklet. Banksy depicts Paris in tons of different poses, next to captions mixing funny insults with social commentary.

Here's the original "Paris" cover from '06, and as you can see, Banksy's version is way more risque.

12/23/18 8:45 AM PT -- TMZ has obtained exclusive footage of the arrest.

J.D. Madison -- best known as Thomas Ravenel's buddy on "Southern Charm" -- got arrested for allegedly writing a bad check ... TMZ has learned.

Madison was picked up by cops Saturday in Charleston County, SC after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He's been booked on a check violation charge and is still being held ... we're waiting on more details.

It's been a rough few months, legally speaking, for both J.D. and Thomas. Madison was reportedly accused of sexual assault in August by a woman who claims he slipped a drug in her drink and raped her. She filed a police report about the alleged 2017 incident.

And, as we reported ... Ravenel was arrested in South Carolina in September for assault and battery after he too was accused of trying to rape a woman.

We reached out to Madison ... no word back, so far.

Target now has a target on its back ... Vans is suing the retail giant for straight-up jacking its iconic shoe.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Vans is super pissed Target just started selling shoes eerily similar to the "Old Skool Shoe" it introduced back in 1977. Target's "Camella Lace-Up" shoe hit the market in August.

Vans claims Target's shoe features a similar jazz stripe. Vans also alleges Target intentionally copied the distinctive look because it knew it would create confusion so the knockoffs would sell. Vans notes Target's own customers refer to the copycat shoes as "fake Vans" on Target's website.

Vans wants the copycat shoes destroyed. It also wants all profits Target has made off the kicks.

Reps for Target tell us they're aware of the lawsuit and, "Have a deep appreciation and respect for design rights." They say their vendor is looking into the claims.

4:11 PM PT -- A source close to Cardi tells us the baby in the video isn't Kulture, in fact, it's not a real baby at all.

Cardi B took "bring your daughter to work day" to a whole new level ... by featuring Kulture in a not so traditional way in her brand new music video.

The rapper goes topless in her vid for "Money" -- which dropped Friday -- to breastfeed her baby girl, Kulture. Because it's Cardi, there's also no shortage of her in lavish outfits, sexy dance moves ... and shots of her ass.

Who knew she played piano?

As we've reported ... Cardi's been pretty stingy providing pics or vids of her daughter, but made a big reveal shortly after announcing her split with Offset.

Offset announced on his birthday he wanted Cardi back, and to spend Christmas together as a family. He also crashed her stage at Rolling Loud last weekend with $15,000 in roses ... only to be rejected in front of a ton of people.

Kulture was hidden from the world for a long time ... but she's definitely getting tons of attention now though.

Originally Published -- 12:08 PM PST

Busta Rhymes just sued a former employee for allegedly pretending to be his manager and booking him for gigs without the rapper's permission.

Busta is suing Rasheem "Bubba" Barker claiming the guy had no authority to make deals on the rapper's behalf but still managed to make money off Busta's back by getting promoters to pay thousands up front and keeping the dough.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Busta says Barker's misdeeds included when he booked Busta for gigs in 2016 and 2018 and put $60k in advances in his personal bank account.

Busta also claims Barker stole $8k that was supposed to go to Busta's travel expenses earlier this year for a trip to Toronto.

The rapper claims as a result of all this, someone got a default judgment against Busta for $22,478 after he no-showed a gig booked by Barker. Busta's pointing the finger at Barker and wants him to cover those and other damages. He's suing for more than $500k.

ICYMI ... earlier this week, Busta went off on Barker accusing him of pretending to be Busta's manager. He's now taken his beef from Instagram to the courthouse.

Kodak Black wasn't kidding when he said he was getting more involved with charities ... he's done it again, this time bringing smiles with tons of Christmas gifts.

We're told the rapper hit up Paradise Childcare in Broward County, Florida earlier this week and delivered a bunch of toys that'll go to 150 kids. The non-profit group assists parents with childcare and other needs.

On top of the gifts ... we're told Kodak also dropped around $5k for the org's Christmas party.

A rep for Paradise Childcare tells TMZ ... they're grateful for Kodak's contribution, and the toys will be divided between 2 Paradise locations.

In addition to his gift-drop ... we're told Kodak took part in something called the "Gifts of Chai" with Rabbi Scheur Kaplan. Participants give or receive gifts in multiples of $18 ... which is considered good luck. Kodak donated $180.

Rabbi Kaplan tells us, "It isn't the amount of money that matters. Kodak sent the gift of Chai 10x which is amazing. This is very special and we are thankful."

So, here's a bit of irony for Jennifer Lopez -- a super hot social media shot of her (aren't they all?) with the caption, "Today was a good day!!" ... just earned her a big fat lawsuit.

Michael Stewart, a professional photographer, says he took this pic of J Lo earlier this year. Sweet, right? Jennifer looks smoking in a striped blouse and skintight white pants. Stewart licensed the pic to a website back in June ... according to his lawsuit.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, he says he later discovered the shot was posted on her Instagram -- one of her stories, to be exact. Jennifer or someone on her team added the caption. Just by looking at her, you'd have to agree it WAS a good day.

However, it wasn't a good day for Michael. He's pissed because he claims J Lo, nor anyone on her team, got permission to use his photo. So, yeah ... he wants to get paid for his work.

We've seen Khloe Kardashian, Jessica Simpson and Blac Chyna face similar suits from photogs.

Michael is suing Jennifer and her production company, Nuyorican Productions, for copyright infringement. That means he wants all profits she made from the photo, if any, or up to $150k in damages.