Money

Try not to choke on the irony, but the real-life 'Wolf of Wall Street' -- who infamously fleeced investors for roughly $200 million -- is now suing the film's producers, claiming they lied and screwed HIM over.

Jordan Belfort is going after Red Granite Pictures and its CEO, Riza Aziz, for fraud ... claiming he had no idea they financed the film with stolen money from the Malaysian government. In the suit, Belfort says the political scandal Aziz is wrapped up in, is tainting the rights to his story ... which he sold to Red Granite.

Aziz allegedly embezzled $248 mil from a Malaysian government-run development fund.

Belfort sold the production company the rights to his memoir and the sequel, "Catching the Wolf of Wall Street," but he claims the scandal is keeping him from cashing in even more.

For example, despite the massive success of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie directed by Martin Scorsese ... Belfort says -- in docs obtained by TMZ -- Red Granite has "since refused to further exploit the goldmine of an asset to the benefit of Belfort, despite its contractual obligations."

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley are officially moving on ... when it comes to their Vegas home anyway, 'cause TMZ's learned they've listed it for sale.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... the 'Jersey Shore' star and Jen put their home on the market 3 months ago for a cool $869,900 and we're told the reasoning is surprisingly quite simple -- Ron's moving to L.A. and Jen's got no use for it and is game for selling it.

We're told Ronnie plunked down all the cash for the crib back in October 2017, but they'll split the profits, if any. They bought it for $725k. Our sources also say the sale has nothing to do with their drama-filled relationship ... it's just that, logistically, they don't need it.

A source close to Ronnie tells us he footed all the bills for the home as well ... and Jen also had a place of her own in the city.

The house itself is a marvel ... 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and nearly 3,000 square feet of living space. It's nestled inside a gated community ... so, privacy. It also features a full panoramic view of the strip, city and mountains. There's also a relaxing spa.

Ronnie and Jen, however, did anything but relax in that house -- the site of some of their most volatile fights in their frequently hostile relationship.

Diddy is helping shine a light on a group of children battling cancer ... and now the kids are getting brand new iPads.

Here's the deal ... former celebrity weed dealer Milk Tyson launched a viral campaign to get Diddy to join their crusade to help kids fighting cancer, and get them a segment on the 'Ellen Degeneres Show.'

The children at Miami-based nonprofit Fighting All Monsters appeared in a viral video with Snoop Dogg, dancing to Diddy's hit song "Bad Boys For Life" and asking him to vibe with them.

Diddy caught wind of the initiative, and blasted the video out Thursday to his nearly 16 million Instagram followers, and now the group says tons of folks want to get involved.

Gervonta Davis has nearly $250,000 worth of bling in his closet that he never properly paid for because he wrote a bogus check -- this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Shyne Jewelers in Philadelphia, Penn. claims they reached a deal with Davis last year to make him some sick ice ... but they say the boxing star ultimately ended up stiffing them.

According to court docs, the jewelers say Davis ordered a $130,000 green Richard Millie watch, a $60,000 custom pendant, a $30,000 Rolex and four $12,000 "GTD" pendants.

They also say Davis had another blue Richard Millie watch -- which he had previously bought from them -- repaired for $19,000.

But, they claim when it came time to pay up for the $250K bill ... Davis and his team paid with a counterfeit check.

The jewelers say this was no accident either ... saying, "Davis knew that the cashier's check was counterfeit and he acted intentionally and with malicious intent."

Now, the jewelers are asking for the jewelry to be returned or the $250,000 with interest ... plus damages.

We've reached out to Davis' camp for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West got love for each other -- as they've declared on social media posts like this one -- but now she's got a lawsuit too.

This tender moment between the Wests ended up on Kim's Instagram -- back in October 2018 -- and while more than 2.2 million people liked it, one professional photographer hates it to the point he's suing Kim.

Saeed Bolden says he's the guy who snapped the loving shot, and therefore he owns it. According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Bolden says he never gave KKW permission to use it, nor did she pay him to use it ... so he wants a little something for his trouble.

For sure, it's a rare pic ... Kanye's smiling, after all. The photo was snapped at Nas' album release party, which Kanye produced.

As for how much the pic is worth? Bolden doesn't name a price -- he's suing for any profits Kim's made off the post, plus punitive damages.

Oddly, he's also suing Kim's shapewear line, Skims Body. because he claims it shares Kim's IG account ... though the solo Skims account never posted the photo.

Kylie Jenner's put up a billboard smack in the middle of WeHo that kills 2 birds with one stone -- celebrating Stormi's birthday and hawks the kiddo's new makeup collection.

The massive bday card -- in a prime location on Santa Monica Blvd -- shows Kylie gently cradling Stormi, who turns 2 on February 1. Obviously NOT coincidentally, Kylie's also adding to her cosmetics empire on that day ...with makeup products inspired by Stormi.

Kylie's dubbed the collection, naturally, the Stormi Collection -- and says it's something she's been waiting for since the moment she found out she was pregnant.

She says it's dedicated to Stormi and inspired by her, but the kiddo also lent a helping hand. There are butterfly-themed packages of lip kits, blushes and mini eye shadow palettes with pastel and glitter shades.

At this rate, Stormi might end up snatching Mom's crown for youngest billionaire in history.

DeSean Jackson will be honoring his friend and late-legend Nipsey Hussle whenever he's rolling through the streets ... tricking out a Rolls-Royce to pay tribute to the slain rapper.

D-Jax -- who repped the L.A. rapper all season with custom cleats -- is keeping his tribute going on the road ... by pimpin' his 2020 Rolls-Royce Cullinan interior in "Nipsey Blue."

Not only do the seats pay homage to Nip ... custom lighting on the doors projects Nipsey's face and logo on the ground whenever Jackson hops in his ride. It's pretty amazing!

The rims are also blue ... as well as the RR hood ornament, which also has a "One of One" logo for DeSean, with all the work done by Champion Motoring.

Nipsey was shot and killed outside his Marathon Clothing store in South L.A. back in March 2019 ... and DeSean has actively worked to keep his legacy alive ever since.

Jackson -- who also has a Nipsey diamond chain -- spoke out about the loss at the time, saying "Can’t b life !! How they even allow this to happen ?? Bro I remember us being young homies before all the fame and money two young south central kids connecting and making something out of our life’s and giving bac for our ppl & hood !!"

Scott Eastwood allegedly tried to pull a fast one and pose as a city official while taking down banners protesting a massive development project ... but he got caught in the act and it's all on video.

Here's the deal ... folks in Del Mar, CA are protesting a proposed luxury resort atop 16.5 acres of oceanfront land north of San Diego, and they're voicing concerns with signs and banners around the town.

Scott showed up to a demonstration Sunday at the Del Mar Plaza, telling protesters he was with the city and ordering them to take down signs and banners ... at least according to folks on the ground.

Check out this video ... protesters recognize Scott, who is busy screwing with a banner, and tell him they've got prior approval to keep the signs up. Clint Eastwood's son realizes he's been outed, and he smirks before hightailing it outta there as people start hurling insults.

It's interesting ... Scott owns a bar and some small businesses in the area, and protesters are under the impression he's an investor in the proposed resort.

LeBron James will never be in the dark again ... 'cause the LA Lakers superstar just copped a SICK new diamond pendant -- and it LIGHTS UP!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Bron is the proud new owner of a "Lion Gatekeeper" pendant ... complete with 130 grams of 14k gold, encrusted with 35 carats of VS1 diamonds.

We're told LBJ hit up celeb jeweler Iceman Nick when he was in Houston to play the Rockets ... and the dude pulled out all the stops to come up with a pendant fit for a king.

Of course, LeBron's always been a fan of using lions in his brand ... and Nike once even had a "Heart of a Lion" campaign starring James.

Iceman Nick has a huge list of celeb clients -- from Errol Spence to Tyler Herro to Lonzo Ball, just to name a few.

Not only is it iced out, it's also fully functional -- the eyes of the lion light up and the door knocker moves too!!

LeBron's a big fan of jewelry and can always be spotted with some diamonds on him ... but the light-up piece is gonna change the whole game.

The Game helped some kids out of a jam with police that left everyone happy ... but he had to shell out some cash to make it happen.

The rapper was leaving Beauty & Essex restaurant Sunday night when he noticed officers were speaking to a group of kids nearby who were selling candy on the sidewalk.

We're told another business in the area called the cops and reported the kids for trying to make a buck -- AKA soliciting -- and rather than see them get in any sort of trouble, Game took matters in his own hands.

He handed out enough cash to cover the amount of candy they were selling, and even better -- he let them keep the treats, as well.

The Game told us he was "giving jewels to the youth" so they didn't get hit by the "boys in blue," and he likely would have elaborated more, but fellow rapper Freddie Gibbs crashed our clip.

The guy who helped create the children's movie, "Pete's Dragon" claims he got screwed over by his own kids when they pulled the wool over his eyes to line their own pockets.

Malcolm Marmorstein's now battling 2 of his 4 kids in court over his living trust ...which he claims they duped him into altering so his wife will be left out in the cold after he dies. Malcolm, who's 91, says his boys, Mitchell and Wayne, picked him up ... took him to meet with lawyers and shoved a stack of papers in his face.

He says he naturally trusted his sons and happily gave them his John Hancock -- only to later discover what he signed changed the way his money will be divvied up among his heirs. Even shiftier, he claims the new document forces Barbara, his wife of 14 years, to get the hell out of her home a year after Malcolm dies.

Mama June is once again unloading valuable property for cash ... this time it's a diamond ring, and we're told she took the very first, seemingly low-ball, offer.

The troubled reality TV star visited a pawn shop called Cash America in Stockbridge, GA on Thursday morning, and brought in a nice diamond ring resembling a wedding or engagement ring ... according to witnesses.

We're told she didn't say much and didn't give a reason why she wanted to sell the ring. Employees didn't ask many questions, though, and offered her $1,500 after a quick examination.

Good enough for June, apparently. We're told she accepted, took her cash and bolted in a pickup truck.

As for the ring ... it's possible it's the one her boyfriend, Geno Doak, gave her in March 2019 on her most recent TV series, "Mama June: From Not to Hot."

Bhad Bhabie is fixing her social media woes with some good old-fashioned retail therapy ... shedding dollars instead of tears.

The "Hi Bich" rapper announced last week she was taking a break from her social accounts thanks to some serious trolling. She wrote, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what for but whatever y'all are so angry at me for I'm sorry."

Our BB sources tell us she went right from her phone to the jewelry store, scooping up $65,000 in bling in one stop.

The rapper bought a $45,000 Rolex watch with a baby blue dial and 16.5 carats of colorless VVS diamonds. She also got 2 $10,000 diamond bracelets. In other words, she's iced out and then some. Nothing fixes the online blues like some real-life livin' and ballin', huh?

Delta Airlines just got hit with a lawsuit because one of its jets allegedly dumped fuel on an L.A. elementary school.

Video showed Delta flight 89, a Boeing 777 bound for China, turning back to LAX Tuesday to make an emergency landing, and spewing fuel as it went in preparation for landing.

Unfortunately, that fuel ended up dousing children at Park Avenue Elementary in the city of Cudahy, CA.

Four teachers at the school have hired Gloria Allred to take on Delta. In the suit, obtained by TMZ, they say the pilot was asked by air traffic control if there was a need to dump fuel before landing ... and the pilot said no.

The suit alleges the pilot dumped the fuel without notifying the control tower ... and the big problem is ... it was done at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. According to docs, that's simply too low to allow the fuel to evaporate before it reaches the ground -- it should be done at 5,000 feet or higher.

In the suit, the teachers say their clothes, flesh and eyes were coated in jet fuel -- and it also got into their mouths. They say they had trouble breathing and needed medical treatment.

Cardi B's major fashion statement at Paris Fashion Week wasn't a simple ready-made mask she slipped on -- it required painstaking man-hours and a few stacks to get the final product.

The "I Like It" rapper turned heads Thursday when she showed up at Offset's Paris Fashion Week show showing off a blinged-out mask and plenty of cleavage. Bradley Jordan, the creator of Cardi's CoutureMask, tells TMZ ... from start to finish, the mask took his team 36 hours.

Jordan had creative control but Cardi did have one specific request -- she wanted ample room for her eyes to avoid even the slightest obstruction. The designer didn't want to take chances ... after the mask was done, he made an all-important revision to make the eye cutouts even larger. You can see, he left Cardi's eyes plenty of room to shine.

Jordan says he started the mask with just the material, but then covered it with opal cut black glass, of varying sizes, set in silver. He added a matching choker -- with gemstones -- to give Cardi complete coverage.

Rihanna, French Montana and Future have also rocked CoutureMask -- and a customized one usually runs between $3k and $7k depending on the facial coverage and the gems used.

No doubt, Cardi went all out for her piece -- much like she clearly did for her post-fashion show celebration ... if you buy what she tweeted.

And, why wouldn't you?

Ariana Grande straight-up ripped off the lyrics and melody to "7 Rings" -- so claims a songwriter who says he recorded basically the same song 2 years earlier.

Josh Stone claims in a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- he wrote a song called "You Need It, I Got It" in January 2017 ... 2 years BEFORE Ariana recorded "7 Rings."

Stone -- who goes by Dot -- notes in his suit, the hook to Ariana's song is, "I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it." His hook is, "You need it, I got it. You want it, I got it."

He also says the 2 songs have identical metrical placement of the paired phrases.