Money

Safaree Samuels was the victim of a planned armed robbery that ended with him running for his life ... and it was all caught on surveillance video.

In the video -- obtained by TMZ -- you see Safaree next to his vehicle in a parking garage in a red fur coat, when 2 men who appear to be lying in wait run up on him and his friend with guns drawn.

The suspected robbers -- Shawn Harewood and Jonathan Ricketts, who were captured by NYPD not long after the holdup -- can be seen going through Safaree's coat, presumably taking cash and valuables, before making him and his friend get facedown on the ground.

Once the perps flee the scene, Safaree and the other guy get up and take off in a mad dash.

We broke the story ... Safaree knows one of his alleged assailants -- Harewood -- very well, but we're told they haven't spoken since Safaree and Nicki Minaj split. This lends credence to Safaree's lawyer, who told us this was not a random attack.

Amanda Bynes is waging war with Twitter and Instagram ... accusing the social media giants of allowing impersonator accounts to claim she's too broke to buy her meds and needs fans to wire her money.

Amanda's attorney, Tamar Arminak, tells TMZ ... she's sent multiple legal letters demanding Twitter shut down "@persianLA27" and Instagram remove "@alb4386" because they impersonate Amanda ... telling fans she's short on money and friends refuse to help her.

The accounts are private but we've obtained a screen shot of a recent IG post claiming she's $63 short from buying meds and begs fans to Venmo her the dough.

The fake Twitter account -- with more than 24k followers -- had numerous replies from fans saying "Amanda" deserves to get money that's owed to her "especially if it's court-ordered."

Tamar says they've been fighting Twitter now for years to remove the account ... Amanda's verified account posted in 2016 telling her followers not to believe the impostors, and then again last year, calling out the fake account for saying she's pregnant and married.

What's more ... Tamar -- who thinks the same person's behind both accounts -- claims Twitter told her the account's a parody and therefore doesn't violate rules. She claims IG told her it doesn't violate their policy and offered no further explanation.

For the record -- Tamar says Amanda's financially well, thriving in fashion school and in a much better place following her 2014 health scare.

Taylor Swift's beauty allegedly pushed a man with a crush on her to a life of crime all in the hopes of -- ready for it? -- impressing her ... seriously.

Bruce Rowley was arrested last week in Ansonia, CT after cops say he confessed to robbing a bank and then driving to Taylor's house and throwing some of the money that he stole over her fence, thinking that would win her over ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.

According to cops, Rowley allegedly entered the bank and demanded money from a bank teller. Rowley did not show a weapon or make any threats ... and the teller turned over an undetermined amount of cash.

Cops say Rowley -- who was spotted by state troopers in Rhode Island and led them on a chase back to Connecticut -- told them he tried contacting Swift, but said she wasn't home. Cops are trying to verify whether he actually went to her house.

According to the police report ... Rowley repeatedly told cops he had a crush on Taylor and that he planned on donating some of the money he stole from the bank to Ansonia PD ... believing that would impress her.

Judge Judy is celebrating another judge's ruling that she absolutely deserves every penny of her $47 million salary, and says it's a victory for all women's salaries ... even if ya don't make 8-figures.

We got Judy Monday afternoon in Bev Hills, and congratulated her on the legal victory over a talent agent who claimed the enormous salary CBS pays her, screws him out of profits. A judge shot that down, saying she's worth the dough.

As usual, Judy cut through all the legalese and summed up the case as a lesson for society: Don't question a woman's paycheck, unless you're gonna scrutinize a man's too!

Amber Heard finally put her Johnny Depp money where her mouth was ... holding up her end of the bargain and donating a HUGE chunk of her settlement dough to Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

TMZ's learned "Ms. Amber Heard" landed on CHLA's "Honor Roll" list of 2017 donors after donating between $1 mil and $4,999,999. Ronald Burkle, AEG and the American Cancer Society are also listed with Amber.

We broke the story ... Amber and Johnny struck a $7 million settlement in their nasty divorce case back in 2016 ... when she promised to donate the entire settlement in equal parts to CHLA and the ACLU. As part of the deal, Johnny donated $100k to each org in Amber's name and she'd donate the rest when she got the rest of the money.

At the time, Amber told us she chose the ACLU "with a particular focus to stop violence against women," and CHLA where she worked as a volunteer for the last 10 years.

Problem was ... several months passed and CHLA's money was MIA. Reason being ... Amber and Johnny hadn't signed off on the deal. But, all's water under the bridge.

CBS got some 'splainin' to do ... as far as the legendary studio made famous by Lucille Ball is concerned.

Charles Hensley says he applied for the "Desilu" trademark in 2016 in order to relaunch Desilu Studios as a "technology-focused film and television studio." Hensley says he was granted the trademark this year, and says CBS did not oppose his application.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Hensley says he reached out to Lucie Arnaz -- daughter of Lucy and Desi Arnaz -- to see if she would be on board for the relaunch. He claims CBS, which originally aired "I Love Lucy" back in the day -- derailed his negotiations by telling Arnaz to stop dealing with Desilu.

According to the suit, CBS is already using the Desilu trademark on other productions, which Hensley thinks compete with his plans for the studio.

4:00 PM -- The President calls the raid a "total witch hunt" and an "attack on what we all stand for."

President Trump's attorney was raided by the FBI Monday ... and the operation was put in motion by none other than Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

We've confirmed federal agents swooped into Michael Cohen's NYC office with a search warrant, and seized thousands of documents related to Mueller's Russia investigation. They also reportedly grabbed records of Cohen's $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels.

Cohen's attorney says the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York got the search warrant based on a referral from Mueller.

The seized docs include communications between Cohen and President Trump ... according to the NY Times, which first reported the raid.

Tim Howard's a goalie ... so, unlike everyone else, he's allowed to use his hands -- even at the strip club!

The Team USA soccer legend was living it up at the legendary V Live over the weekend -- where we're told the dancers and the staff FREAKED OUT (in a good way) when they saw him walk in!

Side note -- apparently, soccer is huge in the Texas stripper community.

He bumped, he grinded ... he threw out thousands of dollars in cash -- everyone had a great time!

Howard and the Colorado Rapids were in Texas to face FC Dallas on Saturday ... and even though the game ended in a draw, Howard was clearly in the mood to celebrate.

If Jeezy wants to keep ballin' and stunnin', he's gonna have to do it with $111k less in his pocket ... he's been ordered to pay up for straight-up jacking a track.

The Atlanta rapper's been ordered to pay Edaz Redden $111,347.29 after suing Jeezy for stealing "I Ball, I Stunt" ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, the judge entered a default judgment in favor of Edaz, who sued Jeezy back in 2015 alleging he gave an "I Ball, I Stunt" demo to a producer ... only to later see the same title, composition and chorus on a Jeezy track.

Jeezy tried to finagle his way outta paying ... claiming he was never properly served. But, the judge didn't buy it ... ordering him to drop the act and pay up.

Gucci Mane ain't close to your regular luxury sports car shopper, not even for one of the newest Ferrari models out -- he jumps right to the front of a long line just like ... this.

Sources tell us Gucci recently purchased a brand new 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast -- which debuted last year ... and has a strict 3-year wait list for average Joe rich folks. Gucci isn't your run-of-the-mill baller though -- he got his delivered within 24 hours of ordering it.

The proud new owner posted a photo of himself with his Ferrari, which got dropped off Sunday morning.

We're told Gucci dropped a whopping $600,000 for the whip, courtesy of Obi Okeke, AKA Doctor Bugatti. Okeke dabbles in high-end rides like this -- just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger and even Floyd Mayweather ... they know what we're talking about.

"Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence and his wife, Christa Miller -- one of the stars of the series -- are living the good life in NYC ... in a home fit for a Hollywood power couple.

Lawrence -- who also co-created "Cougar Town" and "Spin City" -- and Miller -- who also starred on "Cougar Town" and "The Drew Carey Show" -- dropped a cool $7.55 million on the 3-bed, 3.5-bath condo on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

The pristine pad features high ceilings and gallery walls, marble countertops and radiant-heated stone floors in the master bathroom ... as you can see in the pics by Travis Mark. Their condo's in a recently renovated 1912 building ... featuring a top-of-the-line fitness center, yoga studio and screening room.

Conor McGregor made $100 million in his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather last August, but when you need money fast ... there's no one like the bail bondsman.

McGregor was seen leaving a bail bonds office in Brooklyn Friday after he posted bail and was released from custody. His $50k bond was covered by bondsman Ira Judelson ... just down the street from the courthouse.

Judelson tells us Conor came by to check in as part of his bail conditions and to sign some standard paperwork. He was in the same attire he had on in court ... just looking less pissed off.

As we reported ... McGregor turned himself in after his crazy bus attack left 2 UFC fighters injured, caused 3 fights to be canceled and left UFC 223 in complete disarray.

Rich the Kid was like a mom in Target when he hit up the jewelry store -- he ended up leaving with way more than what was on his shopping list.

The rap star went to Mo Jooma -- owner of Atlanta's Icebox Diamonds & Watches -- last week to pick up a couple Rich Forever Music (RFM) pendants he'd ordered in honor of the success of his brand new album, "The World Is Yours."

We're told while he was there, Rich started browsing other bling, put on a chain with a shiny diamond Jesus piece and didn't want to take it off ... so he decided to buy that too.

He was telling people it made him feel like Kanye.

When it was all said and done, we're told the rapper's spending spree totaled around $80,000.

Chris Brown went off on the valet parking attendant outside TAO Los Angeles, threatening to put hands on the guy for some reason.

Chris and a group of friends were leaving the hot spot Thursday night, when he got into an argument over the service charge. We don't know the numbers, but it's clear Chris thinks he's being rooked because he says, "I should knock you out."

CB, standing inches from the guy's face, says the only reason he isn't throwing down is because there are too many cameras around. He eventually forks over some dough, but also issues a final threat.

As Chris put it ... there's gonna be a sequel between himself and the valet.

The robe Muhammad Ali wore on the night of his world-famous "phantom punch" 1965 fight against Sonny Liston is about to hit the auction block -- but it ain't gonna come cheap!

Goldin Auctions is putting the historic ringwear up for grabs with a starting bid of $75k ... but we're told the terry cloth robe with "Muhammad Ali" stitched on the back should fetch a quarter mil, at least!!

It ain't hard to see why -- Ali's rematch vs. Liston was one of the biggest fights in The Greatest's career. It was also his first bout after becoming a Black Muslim ... and recognizing himself as Muhammad Ali instead of Cassius Clay.

"The historical significance of this robe is tremendous, not just for its link to one of the greatest fights in boxing history, but also for the cultural impact Ali’s religious beliefs made," G.A. tells TMZ Sports.

The fight also spawned one of the most iconic images in sports history -- Ali standing over Liston after KO'ing him with the "phantom punch."

FYI, if you're worried about authenticity, the robe comes with a notarized letter of provenance from the guy who got the threads straight from Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee.

Blac Chyna's tuning out the drama following her stroller clash at Six Flags ... with help from the audio company that still solidly has her back.

TUNES Audio will 100% continue working with BC, according to TUNES exec John Chase, and the reason is simple -- she's been a total professional in the workplace since promoting the product over the last year.

This, of course, is welcome news amid the fallout from her stroller fight.

TMZ broke the story ... the baby stroller company Momiie pulled the plug on its deal with Chyna just days after her skirmish at Six Flags. The fallout also triggered legal drama with Rob Kardashian.

Chyna ain't sweating it, though ... and maybe this is why -- Chase tells us TUNE Audio's business with BC's been so good they're working on a kids' TUNES headphone line.