Money

In another gut punch for the family of the Buffalo security guard killed in the mass shooting, a scammer allegedly tried to steal thousands of dollars from their crowdfunding account.

Here's the deal ... there's an official GoFundMe for the family of Aaron Salter Jr., the retired police officer who was working security at the supermarket where the tragic shooting happened, and it's raised about $40,000.

But, Aaron's son says the fund was targeted by a scammer this week, who he says tried to steal his personal information and bank account numbers.

Aaron Salter III tells TMZ ... he was combing through a sea of messages on the GoFundMe when he came across a message from a user who claimed they wanted to donate $4k. But, when he clicked on the message, he says his personal info was instantly switched with someone in Mississippi.

Aaron's son says he was able to get in touch with the good folks at GoFundMe, and they got the account back in his family's hands.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe tells TMZ ... they responded to a phishing attempt against the Salter family, and quickly secured the account. We're told the funds are safe and are being delivered directly to the fam.

Aaron's son says they would have been devastated if the scammer had succeeded -- because he says, obviously, the last thing they need while grieving is someone trying to rob them blind.

Flavor Flav is making monthly child support payments for his 3-year-old son, but he's still got a pretty big balance owed to his baby mama.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Flav found out in 2019, shortly after little Jordan was born, that he was the dad, with the help of a DNA test.

Fast forward to 2021 ... Flav and the baby's mother, Kate Gammell -- his former manager -- were hashing out a child support agreement and agreed he would pay $3,000 a month going forward. No problem here .... Flav's been making the monthly payments.

Thing is ... by the time he started paying, Jordan was already 2 years old, and Kate had incurred various expenses, including medical, that she wanted Flav to pay. As part of the child support agreement, Flav said he would pay the baby's expenses for the first 2 years, totaling $78,704.

He was supposed to make his first payment of the $78k last month, but according to Kate's family, the deadline came and went and she didn't get the loot.

Flav tells TMZ ... he fully intends to pay the $78k, and is working with an accountant to straighten out his finances. Flav makes it clear ... he's making the $3,000 monthly child support payments. He's also paying down her $100,000 in attorney's fees -- he's paid $40k already.

FF adds ... he's doing his very best to provide for and be there for the son he loves.

Trying to grab a piece of Michael Jordan history? You're in luck (if you've got serious cash) -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned a super rare, autographed His Airness court card has just hit the auction block!

The card -- a 1999-00 Upper Deck "Final Floor" piece -- is insane ... it features an actual part of the court that Jordan hit his famous last shot on as a Chicago Bull in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals.

The piece also features Jordan's signature in crisp blue ink -- and it's the only version of the card that Upper Deck ever made (AKA a 1-of-1).

On the back of the card -- there's a congratulatory note that guarantees the piece's authenticity.

It's such a unique find ... bidding on the card at Goldin Auctions is already up to $140,000 -- and, given the way similar rare Jordan cards have sold recently, it could net over $1 MILLION.

"What makes this card unique is that it is the first 1/1 ever for autographs of Jordan, and it's the largest piece of memorabilia ever issued by any card manufacturer on a Michael Jordan pack-pulled trading card," Ken Goldin said. "The photo and the event are the pinnacles of Jordan's career."

A Kobe Bryant game-worn jersey has just hit the auction block ... and TMZ Sports has learned the piece is so rare, the seller could net a FORTUNE for it.

The #8 Lakers uni was worn by Kobe during home games -- including two playoff games -- during his 1996-1997 rookie season.

Experts at SCP Auctions say it's the only jersey ever photo-matched from Mamba's rookie campaign -- making it one of the most valuable pieces of NBA memorabilia to exist.

In fact, David Kohler, CEO/President at SCP, tells us it could ultimately fetch $5 MILLION.

Experts say Bryant, who entered the league straight out of high school, wore the specific jersey five times on April 11, April 13, April 17, May 8, and May 10, 1997.

In the May games, Bryant played against Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semifinals, marking the first time he played in the postseason.

The jersey is gold in color with purple trim and has the #8 on the front ... along with the name Bryant stitched on the back. It has two patches at the bottom ... one indicating Kob wore a size 44.

The Lower Merion product ended up spending 19 more seasons in the league -- all with the Lakers -- eventually retiring with 5 NBA championships, 2 Finals MVP awards ... and is regarded as one of the greatest players in league history.

Travis Scott still has the golden touch, or at least a VERY loyal group of fans, because his first merchandise drop since Astroworld just went crazy online.

Travis released a new collab Friday with pants, jackets, shirts and vests -- but it's the two pairs of Travis Scott Air Trainer 1's that really had fans in a frenzy, trying to score some of their own.

In fact, the hype was so wild for the shoe, Travis and his team needed to create a raffle to make everything fair.

A source close to Trav tells us more than a million people signed up for the raffle for the shoes in just 30 mins ... proving he's obviously still got it when it comes to hawking merch.

Security and the ability to prevent bots from scoring a pair was also a must for TS and team -- we're told they worked with web developers to set up anti-bot protection -- as his drops are some of the most heavily poached online.

This isn't it for Travis and Nike ... we've also heard there's rumblings of additional Nike releases next week, including an Airmax next Friday.

Of course, Travis has also had insanely successful releases with McDonald's, Fortnite and his Cacti hard seltzer flew off the shelves when it was released.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Texas are showing just how desperate some people are to hide drugs, catching a woman who allegedly smuggled fentanyl pills in her vagina.

According to CBP officers working at the Bridge of the Americas border crossing in El Paso, the woman, a 40-year-old American citizen, was intercepted earlier this month trying to smuggle fentanyl pills into the U.S. stuffed inside a condom, which she then hid inside her vaginal cavity.

The agents say a CBP canine alerted officers, who then conducted a pat-down search at the pedestrian crossing ... and officers say the woman then voluntarily removed a condom filled with fentanyl pills from her vaginal cavity.

It appears the actual pills were inside a custom container shaped to fit inside a vagina ... and that container was then wrapped in a condom.

You might be wondering, just how much fentanyl could one woman shove up there ... well, in this case at least, CBP says they recovered 0.006 pounds of the powerful drug.

The bust was one of 25 arrests over the past week at ports of entry in El Paso, which borders Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.

Austin St. John, the actor who played the Red Power Ranger in the 90s TV series, has had his house raided by the feds and he's now under arrest in a massive federal criminal case.

One of St. John's neighbors tells TMZ ... approximately 15 FBI agents in tactical gear rolled up to St. John's home Thursday at 7 AM in Tahoe Suburbans in an upscale neighborhood in McKinney, Texas ... brandishing what looked like AR-15s as they approached his porch.

They entered the home and when they came out they had a plus 1 -- St. John in handcuffs.

Turns out there was a massive federal indictment involving 18 people who have now been charged with fraud. The indictment alleges St. John was part of a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program ... that's the program designed to help small businesses affected by COVID.

St. John allegedly got 16 loans, totaling $3.5 million, which he used for personal purchases and not for the intended purpose. Even if it was used for the intended purpose, the feds claim it was obtained fraudulently.

St. John played Jason Lee Scott in the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," which launched his career in 1993. He left the show in its second season but came back from time to time.

BTW ... there are other Power Rangers who got in a legal mess ... Ricardo Medina Jr., who starred in "Power Rangers Wild Force," was convicted of manslaughter in 2017 and sentenced to 6 years for stabbing his roommate with a sword.

As for St. John, if convicted he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

John Daly relaxed after the first round of the PGA Championship in the most John Daly way possible -- grabbing some wings at Hooters and hitting the casino.

The golf legend -- who is tied for 58th after shooting 2-over on Thursday -- posed with 6 Hooters girls in Tulsa just hours after hitting the links ... thanking the workers for their hospitality.

As it turns out, the dude didn't stop there -- he was spotted posted up at the slots on Thursday night as well ... with a Diet Coke and a pack of cigs sitting next to his machine.

Naturally, TMZ Sports had to hit Daly up to see if he had any luck at the casino ... and unfortunately, it just wasn't his day.

"The slots weren't hitting," Daly told us this morning.

Of course, Daly is known for his obsession with the wing joint ... and his love for the place eventually landed him a sponsorship with the chain.

We'll have to see if Daly's post-golf routine keeps him in the groove for round 2 -- he tees off at 12:25 PM Central time.

A couple in Seattle Washington decided the cost of living there was too damn high, and their solution was to ship out and stay ... because they're now living pretty much full time on a cruise ship!

Richard and Angelyn Burk were fed up with shelling out $3,500 a month for basics, which did not include food, transportation or entertainment. So, they started thinking ... hmmm, we love to travel, we love cruisin' the oceans and low and behold ... it's way cheaper!!! They figured it would cost them $100 a day on a cruise ship and that's all in.

So, 51-year-old Richard, who had just retired as a computer programmer in 2019, and his 53-year-old wife hopped onboard a cruise ship and pretty much stayed there, calling the ocean liner their home.

They do become landlubbers in between cruises, and they usually stay in Airbnbs or hotels.

They're currently on land, but will hop aboard again in July for back-to-back cruises which will last 9 months.

Yo Gotti arguably has the strongest roster in hip hop ... an argument just made by Billboard Magazine, which placed him on the cover with his lineup of high-profile Collective Music Group artists.

But, once upon a time, the label was named Cocaine Muzik Group -- a name Gotti says 50 Cent advised him to drop years ago because the name wasn't built for commercial success.

Gotti told BB that Fiddy said, "Yo, you’re winning, but you can’t be Cocaine Muzik Group -- that’s too harsh. They’re going to be scared of that.” The Memphis rap legend had actually risen to prominence with his Cocaine Muzik mixtape series, and his last coke-tilted LP dropped in 2015.

Today the label is big business as Gotti, Moneybagg Yo, EST Gee, Blac Youngsta, Mozzy and their new artist Lehla Samia -- the new Lambo owner -- are gracing the latest Billboard cover, and talking about their super lucrative Interscope deal.

Interestingly, Gotti's laughing off the rumored $10 million deal as chump change ... 'cause he's got it like that.

Not pictured was CMG rising star 42 Dugg, who not only missed the flight for the photo shoot, but was recently arrested on delinquent warrant charges and is now facing serious prison time.

Tensions are running high among mothers needing baby formula in the United States ... and that's even more apparent in a new video making the rounds on social media.

Unclear where the clip was recorded, but you can see empty shelves -- where formula should be -- and one woman confronting another, accusing her of taking the remaining formula to sell at a higher price.

After the heated exchange, one walks away with all the formula, leaving the other high and dry. The woman's brother posted the clip to social media, sharing the video along with her frustrations. She wrote, "People like this cause the shortages, not enough formula for kids but hey let's ban abortions."

Reports say the country has seen about a 40% drop in formula availability from last month, with some blaming supply chain issues caused by COVID as well as a formula product recall.

Deion Sanders is going after Nick Saban ... calling the Alabama coach a liar for claiming Jackson State University -- where Prime is the head coach -- paid one of its top players $1 million to sign with their program ... then bragged about it!

Sanders was pissed after a clip made rounds on social media, where Saban accused the up-and-coming program of signing good players by paying them off ... and then boasting about it to the media.

"You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow," Sanders wrote on Twitter. "I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB!"

"We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE," he added.

Of course, coach Prime is referring to Saban's claim that JSU signed one of its marquee players, Travis Hunter, by giving him $1 million to commit to the HBCU.

"We have a rule right now that says you cannot use name, image, and likeness to entice a player to come to your school," Saban said. "Hell, read about it in the paper."

"I mean Jackson State paid a guy a million dollars last year that was a really good Division 1 player to come to school -- it was in the paper, and then bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it."

Saban didn't stop at JSU, though ... the legendary coach also went after Texas A&M University, accusing the school of "buying every player on their team," thanks to NIL deals.

"I mean, we were second in recruiting last year," Saban told an audience at an Alabama booster event. "A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team -- made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn't buy one player, all right?"

Daymond John is offering financial aid to the family of the security guard killed in the Buffalo shooting ... reaching out after discovering the guy was a big fan of his.

The son of Aaron Salter Jr., the retired police officer who was working security at the supermarket where the tragic shooting happened, tells TMZ ... Daymond recently called him and struck up a conversation, getting emotional and offering to help with funeral expenses and other bills.

Daymond told Aaron Salter III he saw some photos online of the guy's dad posing with cardboard cutouts of the "Shark Tank" star ... and it turns out watching "Shark Tank" was a family affair in the Salter house.

Aaron, who is being hailed a hero for likely saving the lives of others in the attack, was also an inventor like Daymond ... and his son says DJ told the family his heart goes out to them and he wants to help in any way possible.

When Aaron's son relayed funeral details, Daymond offered to help cover the cost and told the family someone from his camp would be in touch.

We're told Daymond got emotional as the conversation continued ... Aaron's son could hear the pain in Daymond's voice, and towards the end of their talk Daymond offered to help the family with anything they need in the future, urging them not to hesitate.

Aaron's son says his dad was a huge fan of Daymond's and is looking down now, super proud.

Daymond's offer to the family is in addition to a visit from President Biden ... we're told POTUS spoke individually with 9 family members, shaking hands and expressing condolences.

'BMF' star Lil Meech allegedly stole a $250,000 Richard Mille watch and got caught ... leading to his arrest for grand theft.

The 22-year-old actor/rapper -- handpicked by 50 Cent to star as his dad, Big Meech, in the Starz ‘BMF’ series -- got booked on two counts of first-degree grand theft and a separate count of organized fraud on March 14.

Cops say the actor walked into Miami's Haimov Jewelers back in February and put a down payment on the Richard Mille using his $80,000 platinum Rolex, but he allegedly failed to pay the remaining $200K balance and never returned the watch.

Cops also accuse him of trying to trade the watch for a different Richard Mille piece at a different store.

Records show Meech was released on bond the same day he was arrested. Lil Meech hasn’t reacted to charges publicly, but he recently posted an Instagram photoshoot to let fans know he’s unbothered.

The Buffalo Bills and NFL are teaming up to contribute $400,000 to local relief efforts in Buffalo ... after a mass shooting on Saturday left 10 people dead and several others injured.

"On behalf of the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, we are most grateful for the generous contributions from the Buffalo Bills Foundation and the National Football League Foundation that will allow us to create real change and emerge from the darkness of this heinous act," said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

The $400K donation will be divided up amongst several groups ... with $200,000 going to the Buffalo Community Response Fund, and the other $200,000 going to various nonprofit orgs working on relief efforts.

"This Fund is a partnership to build upon the collective desire to take action and to work together as a community to address immediate needs, long-term rebuilding and systemic issues that continue to marginalize communities of color," Dedecker added.

We've already seen members of the Bills org. -- like defensive back Micah Hyde -- literally, step up to the plate by donating proceeds from his charity softball game to the victims of the tragedy.

Hyde hosted the event at Sahlen Park, a minor league baseball facility, where he announced a huge $200K donation.

And, Josh Allen is also involved. The star quarterback said the team planned to meet to discuss further ways they could help the innocent victims and people in the community who are hurting.

The partnership between the Bills and the NFL is certainly a big step in the right direction.

Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers jersey from the 1988 Stanley Cup-clinching game -- the Great One's last championship -- just hit the auction block ... and it could be the most expensive piece of hockey memorabilia ever sold.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the #99 jersey Gretzky rocked during the title-deciding game against the Boston Bruins is currently on the block at Grey Flannel Auctions ... and already has a bid over $400K!!

The craziest part ... there are still 18+ days left in the auction, and bidding doesn't typically heat up until the final day. In other words, this jersey is going to sell for an insane amount of money.

Wayne wore the iconic threads as he hoisted the best trophy in sports after leading his squad to a sweep over Boston in 5 games.

Yes, a sweep in 5 ... in a best of 7 series.

Gretzky and the Oilers had a chance to close out the Bruins in Game 4 ... that is, until the power went out with about 3 minutes remaining in the 2nd period of the potential series-clinching game.

NHL and team officials conferred, and ultimately decided to essentially throw out game 4 ... and just play game 5 two days later.

The Great One -- the NHL's all-time leading scorer -- lived up to his name during the 5th game ... finishing the game with 1 goal and 2 assists.

The jersey is a huge deal because it was the last time Gretzky ever donned an Oilers uniform ... as he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings a few months after winning the Cup -- in a shocking deal.

GFA tells us the jersey, a Nike size "XL," is covered in champagne stains from the boozy locker room celebration. The jersey also shows puck marks and loose threads.

The front features the Oilers team logo -- along with a "C" patch for captain -- located on the upper left chest area of the jersey.

The back of the uniform has Gretzky's name in blue tackle twill on a white nameplate, along with his iconic number 99 ... which has since been retired leaguewide.

GFA says the jersey was authenticated using photo-matching to ensure it's authentic.

Gretzky, who broke into the NHL in 1979, won the Stanley Cup 4 times and the Conn Smythe award twice, given to the most valuable player during the playoffs.