Money

There's a new crime that's a sign of the times ... and the sign is plastered on gas stations across America.

Gas has become such a pricey commodity, thieves are pilfering petrol right from the gas tank. Yep, shimmying under the chassis and drilling holes into the tanks ... catching the fuel before it hits the ground.

It's no big surprise ... with gas prices in some areas of the country soaring above $7 a gallon.

As for why these crooks aren't doing it the OG way -- siphoning gas by just removing the gas cap -- newer models have rollover valves that make it impossible.

There is, of course, a big element of danger. If the gas tank explodes it could be catastrophic. BTW, God forbid, if a bystander dies in such an explosion, the thieves could be prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter. It doesn't seem worth the risk for 70 bucks.

This is the latest version of car theft. As you may know, there's a crime wave across the country ... criminals have been stealing catalytic converters left and right.

BTW ... it's a pricey repair, often costing $2,000 to make things right.

Drake's YOLO Estate is drawing the attention of real estate developers who don't really give a crap about its legacy as a celeb party palace -- instead, they wanna tear it all down.

TMZ has learned ... in addition to celebs like Britney Spears and Caitlyn Jenner, multiple real estate developers have visited Drake's 3 side-by-side properties in the past few days, and they're all licking their chops to convert them into one mega estate.

We broke the story ... Drake put the Hidden Hills properties on the market, asking $22.2 million for the full compound, or a mere $14.8 mil for his main residence alone. We're told the developers don't think the mansion itself needs to be razed, but homes on the 2 adjacent properties would likely be demolished.

Drake did a lot of renovations on the main property. Our sources say the potential buyers like his interior remodeling, but the exterior grounds could get a makeover.

As it was explained to us ... some developers are looking at this property similar to the Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian massive neighboring properties, which are also in Hidden Hills.

We're told several offers have already been made for Drake's estate in less than a week.

Things are really heating up between 'Joe Millionaire' star Steven McBee and his new lover, Calah Jackson ... cause we're told they're gonna be shacking up in his new home.

ICYMI, Steven chose Calah and gave her a promise ring on the season finale, and he's already making an even bigger commitment by dropping $772,565 on a Kansas City, MO love nest.

Our sources say, Steven bought the place in his name, but the couple's decided to move in together. It's a bigger move for Calah -- she's from Dallas -- but they won't be too far from Steven's family in the rural town of Gallatin, MO.

We're told, the house is still under construction, but should be finished by the end of this month. These photos -- taken by photographers Mark and Cyndi McCombs -- of a replica model give you an idea of what their new pad will look like.

From the looks of it, it'll be pretty nice and they'll have lots of space in their 4 bedroom, 4 bath pad. It's a sweet "starter" home for the couple, but then again ... he's a millionaire.

The lovebirds seems to be having better luck than the other Joe on the show. As we've told you, Kurt has already split from Amanda, who he picked in the finale.

The Nelk Boys' SteveWillDoIt gave former President Donald Trump a sweet thank you gift following their recent podcast collab -- an iced-up Rolex, worth $75K!

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the ice blue platinum Day-Date 40mm isn't sold in stores, meaning Steve had to custom order it.

Platinum Day-Dates are known to be among the most expensive Rollies on the market -- more valuable than gold models -- and we're told Trump's has the classic Rolex ice blue face.

Trump was the latest guest on the Nelk Boys podcast, "Full Send Podcast," which is hosted by Steve, Kyle Forgeard, Bob Menery and Salim The Dream. Steve told the former President he'd made a staggering $500k selling T-shirts with both of their faces.

Steve told Trump he wasn't sure how to repay him -- after all, his face took up half the tees -- so, he splurged on the bling'd out timepiece.

Trump's episode of 'Full Send' premiered Wednesday and racked up 5 million views before YouTube took it down.

The parents of Gabby Petito want justice for their daughter -- suing the parents of her killer, Brian Laundrie -- for allegedly knowing more about Gabby's death than they let on.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Gabby's parents say Chris and Roberta Laundrie knew their son had murdered Gabby and believed they were in the process of helping him leave the country.

The docs also mention Gabby's autopsy revealed she'd suffered blunt force injuries to both her head and neck ... additional details from the fact she had been strangled to death.

The lawsuit, filed by Gabby's dad, Joseph Petito, and mom, Nichole Schmidt claim after her death, Brian used Gabby's phone to send text messages ... making it seem like she was still alive.

Gabby's parents say in one of the texts allegedly sent to Schmidt by Laundrie from Gabby's phone, he referred to Gabby's grandfather by his real name, Stan, something she would never have done.

The lawsuit claims Brian was using Gabby's phone up until at least August 30 -- 3 days after she was murdered -- to communicate with Schmidt, saying there was poor cell service in Yosemite.

What's more ... Gabby's parents say they believe it was on August 28, a day after her murder, when Brian told his parents what had happened. The lawsuit alleges it was that same day when the Laundries contacted an attorney ... and hired him a few days later.

Gabby's parents say prior to her disappearance, they had a pleasant relationship with the Laundries, but as the situation got worse, Brian's mom allegedly blocked Gabby's mom's cellphone as well as her account on Facebook.

While the docs don't get into detail on exactly how ... they read, " ... Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie were keeping the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie secret, and it is believed were making arrangements for him to leave the country."

Gabby's parents say they suffered emotional distress, and are asking for an unspecified amount in damages.

President Biden's latest executive order is a big "W" for those in the crypto world, and a clear indicator everyone should, if nothing else, start learning what it's all about ... according to Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" for his "Follow the Money" segment ... giving us his take on Biden's greenlight for feds to study risks and benefits of cryptocurrency. Daymond says the bottom line is ... it's really good news.

He says the news legitimizes crypto, and should get more people to invest. Even further, he believes Biden's interest in creating a digital U.S. dollar will protect all Americans.

Although, the prez did not announce any regulations of cryptocurrency ... Daymond says they'll be necessary to prevent investors from getting hurt or scammed.

Already, 16% of Americans have invested in crypto, and he says that number will increase greatly in the next 10 years.

Travis Scott's announcement about his new charitable project is a blatant attempt to clean up his image after the Astroworld tragedy ... at least according to some of the plaintiffs, who want the judge to stop him from tooting his own horn.

Family member of Ezra Blount, the 9-year-old killed in the Astroworld crush, are pissed about Travis launching his Project HEAL initiative ... or at least they don't think he should be allowed to publicize it through the media. As we reported, Travis announced this week he'd be pouring $5 million into several charitable efforts.

Ezra's father and mother have filed docs asking the judge to amend the gag order put in place last month ... to specifically block Travis from making such announcements, which they feel will taint the potential jury pool in their lawsuits against Travis.

The dad, Treston Blount, calls Project HEAL nothing more than a "highly sophisticated marketing campaign." He points out Travis and his team issued a "look at me" press release to all TV and print media in Harris County, Texas ... the exact place from which the jury will be selected.

Here's the twist, though ... Travis' legal team feels it's Blount's attorney who violated the gag order by publicly disparaging Travis for Project HEAL. In their response, they say Travis was merely continuing his "long history of giving back to his hometown" -- however, Blount's attorney characterized it as Travis trying to say, "Look at me, I'm a good guy."

Tinder rolling out background checks isn't a response to Simon Leviev's alleged handiwork -- detailed in "Tinder Swindler" -- but if it prevents similar cases from happening, the app will be thrilled.

Tinder just announced this week it will require the new background checks for users, but we're told the program has been in the works for some time. A spokesperson for Match Group -- owners of Tinder, Match.com and Plenty of Fish -- tells TMZ ... the criminal background check feature was something users have been demanding for a while.

They say the company teamed up with non-profit organization Garbo back in 2020 to create a system that works for all users. The rep points out this partnership started well before the doc debuted this year on Netflix.

The process brings up offenses that are relevant to safety, and that includes financial crimes. They tell us it's a great way for women to get a deeper look into their matches. And, while they didn't create the system for him, they say someone like Simon would be flagged instantly.

As you know, 'Swindler' was all about Simon and some of his alleged victims, who claim he tricked them out of more than $10 million after meeting them on the dating app ... and then ghosted them once he got what he wanted.

Since the doc dropped, Simon's had quite the ride ... he got banned from most dating apps, allegedly earned $30K on Cameo, and got a criminal court complaint filed against him from the wealthy family to which he claimed to belong.

Brandon Thomas Lee and his brother Dylan unloaded their gorgeous Malibu home this week ... scoring $3 million for the pad.

TMZ has learned ... the remodeled 5-bed, 5-bath house sold Wednesday, and they got their asking price. Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's sons had the 2,634 square foot property on the market for 2 months.

The house -- within walking distance of Las Flores Beach -- is smack dab in the heart of Malibu, and was renovated from the ground up.

Inside, it's got lots of new touches and furnishings ... including Western doors and windows throughout.

With no houses on either side and a landscaped backyard, this place is perfect to get a tan and some privacy at the same time.

The Lee bros' home was featured on "The Hills: New Beginnings," as the show followed Brandon kicking off his career in modeling and acting.

Troy Aikman appears to believe the hammer the NFL dropped on Calvin Ridley for betting on NFL games was too strong ... telling TMZ Sports the one-year ban "seems like an awful lot."

Ridley was just suspended for the entire 2022 season ... after the NFL says he bet on contests while away from the Atlanta Falcons on the non-football illness list this past November.

Ridley said the totals of his bets were only $1,500 -- and while he reportedly bet on Falcons games, he was said to have never bet against his team.

Still, the NFL barred the star receiver for all 17 of next season's games, and left the door open to banning him even longer.

When we asked Troy this week for his thoughts on the length of the suspension -- he seemed to think the league could have, and perhaps should have, gone softer.

"On the one hand, you have the league encouraging everybody to gamble," Aikman said, "and yet, here Calvin Ridley is suspended for an entire season."

The Dallas Cowboys legend said he does see the NFL's side of the situation, saying the league should take betting on games very seriously ... but he added, "When you look at it against some of the other suspensions, I would agree that it seems like an awful lot."

Drake's highly coveted Hidden Hills estate is seeing huge interest after being put on the market Monday ... and it's drawing big celeb eyes, namely Britney Spears!

Witnesses on the property tell TMZ, the YOLO Estate was flooded with potential buyers on Tuesday -- holding showings for 20-30 guests -- and within that group was Britney Spears and her fiancé Sam Asghari.

It's unclear what drew Britney to the property, aside from it being one of a kind. The home does have a great recording studio ... maybe a sign of things to come from the pop icon?

We're told Britney was looking at the package deal -- the estate and the two neighboring properties -- creating the ultimate compound offered at $22.2M! She's certainly got the cash, being worth a reported $60M ... and she's got a house to sell that's worth a few million.

We're also told Caitlyn Jenner toured the estate Tuesday as well ... safe to say Drizzy caught everyone's attention!

As we reported, Drake listed the 3 homes on Monday ... The main mansion -- coming in at 12,500 square feet -- has an asking price of $14.8M and features a private theater, swimming pool with a bar and waterfalls, and tennis courts.

Drake won't have a problem selling his estate ... we're told the house already has a handful of serious buyers ... with expectations that there will be several offers by week's end.

Cops have arrested a 12-year-old boy after they say he robbed Jim Boeheim's wife at gunpoint last week.

According to Syracuse police, the minor stuck an air gun in Juli Boeheim's face while she was sitting in her car on March 1 at a famous shopping center in New York.

Police say the boy then reached into the Syracuse head coach's wife's vehicle to grab her purse ... claiming he later took off in a stolen car with three other men.

Cops say the boy has since been charged with robbery, grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon. They did not release the boy's name due to his age.

Jim spoke about the incident on Brent Axe's radio show on ESPN just two days after it happened ... and he explained Juli was "definitely shook up" over it all.

"I mean, this isn't television," Jim said. "It's not movies. It's real life."

There's no snow in Miami ... but Floyd Mayweather was ready just in case, rockin' $795 Balmain ski boots to the Heat game!!

The 50-0 boxer -- one of the best ever to enter the ring -- wore the luxury fashion boots courtside while the Miami Heat took on the Phoenix Suns at FTX Arena on Wednesday.

The black and ivory footwear are Balmain waterproof apres-ski boots, made with Polyamide and calfskin.

Mayweather made sure he matched with an oversized Balmain cotton T-shirt featuring the fashion line's monogram print and name across the chest. The shirt costs $650 on the Balmain website.

So, the fit -- not including the diamond watch, bracelets, jeans and cap (which surely go for thousands of dollars) -- costs $1,445!!

Showing out at basketball games is Floyd's thing -- just a few weeks ago Mayweather sat courtside at the Spurs-Heat game, and the 45-year-old wore a ton of diamond chains around his neck.

A woman is suing Jerry Jones ... reportedly alleging the Dallas Cowboys owner is her father, and claiming that he paid a small fortune years ago to keep everything quiet.

The lawsuit was filed in a Dallas County court on March 3, records show. Documents in the case, however, have since been sealed.

ESPN says it obtained a copy of the lawsuit prior to its sealing ... and the outlet reports the woman, Alexandra Davis, alleged in the docs that Jones "courted" her mother, Cynthia Davis Spencer, in 1995.

Alexandra reportedly claims Jones pursued Davis Spencer while she worked in Little Rock, Arkansas for American Airlines ... and had Alexandra a short time later.

Documents reportedly show Jones, who's now 79 years old, denied he was the father ... but nonetheless paid Davis Spencer $375K "in exchange for confidentiality" when Alexandra was just a 1-year-old.

Alexandra also claimed in the docs, per ESPN, that Donald Jack, an Arkansas lawyer and Jones' friend, set up trusts for Alexandra and her mom to keep "Jones' paternity a secret."

ESPN reports that in her suit, Alexandra, now 25 years old and living in Washington D.C., is asking the court to recognize her as the NFL owner's daughter. She's also reportedly asking to be free of the agreement that she says Jones and her mom agreed to when she was an infant.

Alexandra reportedly said in the docs that she "has lived her life fatherless and in secret and in fear that if she should tell anyone who her father was, she and her mother would lose financial support, or worse."

"[Alexandra] has had to spend her entire life hiding and concealing who her real father is," Alexandra's attorney added in the lawsuit, according to ESPN. "Defendant Jones' only role in Plaintiff's life to date other than to shun her, has been to coerce her from ever disclosing his identity."

We reached out to both Alexandra's attorney and Jones' attorneys for comment ... but so far, no word back from either yet.

There's a cool piece of movie history hitting the auction block ... the Tin Man's oil can from "The Wizard of Oz" ... but it sounds like you will need yellow gold bricks for the winning bid.

The oil can is remembered for its use in the scene where the Tin Man is set free from his rusted state, and it's said to be the only original item left from the iconic character's costume.

This rare piece of movie memorabilia is going up for auction for the first time ever ... via Kruse GWS Auctions ... and it's expected to fetch at least $200,000.

The Tin Man's oil can is right up there with Dorothy's ruby red slippers in terms of 'Wizard of Oz' significance ... and it's currently on display at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum ... which should make for some big bids.

BTW ... there were actually 4 pairs of slippers, and one was auctioned for $2 million.

The oil can is part of the Artifacts of Hollywood & Music Auction ... and there's a bunch of other cool items, including a pair of famous shades worn by Elvis Presley.

The Elvis sunglasses are black with 14K white gold lightning bolt accents along the arms, and more 14K white gold making up his "EP" initials on the bridge. The auction house expects the aviators to fetch about $25,000.

Ryan Coogler was clearly stunned when cops pulled guns on him as he tried to make a legal withdrawal from his bank account -- and his confusion/outrage fully plays out on police body camera footage.

As you can see in the video, obtained by TMZ, the famed director of "Black Panther" and "Creed" is unsure why he was suddenly surrounded by police inside an Atlanta Bank of America -- and then quickly handcuffed and brought out to a squad car.

Even before Ryan has a clue as to why they've detained him ... he tries telling the officers, during this January incident, they've got an innocent guy. He calmly pointed them to his work badge -- he's shooting the 'Panther' sequel in ATL -- and suggested they Google his name.

In the video, Ryan does his best to keep his cool as he's being questioned about what he was doing inside the bank.

TMZ broke the story ... Ryan tried to take out $12,000 from his account, handing the teller a withdrawal slip with a note scribbled on the back, requesting the teller count the cash in the back.

As Ryan tells cops in the video, he didn't feel safe saying the large amount out loud, or having the money counted out at the teller's station. He says it's the first time there's been an issue with one of these transactions, and he also explains why he regularly makes them.

As we reported ... cops investigated and said it was all a huge mistake ... with police saying they just responded to a 911 call from a BoA employee who told her boss Ryan was attempting to rob the bank.

In the body cam footage, Ryan tries to find out who made the call from inside the bank ... and he also asks cops for badge numbers of all the responding officers once he's released.