Money

A former "Big Brother" contestant is being taken to court ... because Pennsylvania's attorney general claims she and her company are running a "homeowner benefits" scam.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, AG Josh Shapiro is going after season 15 contestant Amanda Zachman -- who went by "Zuckerman" on the show -- and her Florida-based company, MV Realty.

According to the docs, Zachman's company scams customers by offering them a one-time upfront payment -- usually between $400 and $700 -- in exchange for the right to exclusively list their homes on the real estate market for 40 years.

However, the AG says backing out before 4 decades has draconian penalties -- and the AG says they buried the risks in the fine print, and never told the homeowners about it. The AG says the company screwed over 1,000 unsuspecting homeowners.

The docs claim MV Realty's phone sales pitch misleads homeowners by stating there's no risk or cost to them unless they sell. He says his office has heard from a bunch of homeowners claiming they've been ripped off.

Fans of "Big Brother" remember Zachman having a showmance with McCrae Olson and placing 7th in the season ... she went down as one of the most villainous, and this may not help her reputation.

A statement from MV reads, "MV Realty has helped more than 30,000 satisfied clients nationwide through our Homeowner Benefit Agreement (HBA) by providing our clients up to $5,000 that can be used to pay their mortgage, utility bills or improve their financial standing. In return, we only ask to be their realtor if they sell their home during the term of our agreement."

They continue, "New and innovative business models, like the HBA, can transform established industries and can sometimes draw questions from critics or outright hostility from those whose existing business model is threatened. However, to suggest that MV Realty has engaged in unfair or deceptive practices is simply false."

Tristan Thompson has hammered out a paternity settlement for his second-youngest child -- where he'll shell out monthly ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Tristan Thompson and Maralee Nichols have agreed to terms for Theo, their 1-year-old son. We're told Tristan will pay $9,500 a month in child support and also covered some of Nichols' lawyer fees.

The $9,500 may seem low considering his NBA contracts have totaled $100M over the span of his career -- but he isn't currently on a team and therefore not earning income, and income is the operative factor in determining child support.

Our sources say Maralee will have sole custody, and while they haven't figured out an official visitation plan yet, those talks will come in the near future.

What's more -- we're told Tristan will be listed as the father on Theo's birth certificate.

Our sources say the paternity settlement agreement will be filed today in L.A. County Superior Court.

Maralee gave birth to Theo in December of last year -- and things got ugly -- Maralee sued Tristan for child support, even claiming he offered to pay her $75,000 to keep quiet about the baby.

It was in January when he came clean after a paternity test, revealing he was Theo's dad, and apologized to Khloe, saying, "You don't deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don't deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions have certainly not lined up with the way I view you."

While we didn't know it at the time, Khloe and Tristan were expecting a son via surrogate at the time of Tristan's apology -- that baby was born in July.

Ex-NFL star Aqib Talib has just been sued ... after he allegedly helped incite an altercation that led to a fatal shooting at a youth football game back in August.

Michael Hickmon's family filed the lawsuit in Dallas County on Tuesday ... claiming the actions of Talib and his brother, Yaqub Talib, at a Big XII Youth Sports League event ultimately led to Hickmon's tragic death on Aug. 13.

According to the suit, Hickmon was coaching the Dragons Elite Academy 9-and-under youth football team against the Talibs' North Dallas United Bobcats.

Hickmon's family says the game was contentious -- claiming several calls had tensions running "high" throughout the contest.

At one point, according to Hickmon's family, the Dragons scored a touchdown following a Bobcats' taunting penalty -- and the Talibs were so upset about it, they ended the game.

The plaintiffs claim in the suit that Hickmon then went to retrieve the game ball -- but was "confronted" by Aqib, who allegedly threw a punch.

"Surprised and outnumbered," the Hickmon family said in the suit, "Hickmon defensively backpedaled."

The family went on to say in the lawsuit that Yaqub then pulled out a handgun and fired five shots -- striking Hickmon with several bullets.

Hickmon later died at a local hospital.

The Hickmon family is suing the Talibs and others for wrongful death ... asking for unspecified damages.

As we previously reported, Yaqub was arrested and later charged with murder. 36-year-old Aqib, meanwhile, has not been charged with any crimes.

Aqib's attorney released a statement following it all in August ... saying, "Aqib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life. He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy."

There's an online theory circulating that claims Stephen "tWitch" Boss and his family were in bad shape financially at the time of his suicide ... something we're told simply isn't true.

People playing detective on social media are working to figure out what may have led tWitch to take his own life. One popular theory -- based on some of the accounts he followed on Instagram -- was that he had invested heavily and lost big in cryptocurrency.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us that is false -- Stephen was not experiencing any sort of financial hardship in the time leading up to his suicide. What's more -- our law enforcement sources say no one from the family has mentioned any sort of financial issues with Stephen.

As for the social media chatter, a video posted by actor Columbus Short also helped to fuel the fire -- where the actor shared his own theory that tWtich may have had money issues.

Our sources say Stephen knew Columbus through the dance world -- and their personal interactions were always directly associated with working environments.

TMZ broke the story -- tWitch's wife, Allison Holker, told cops Tuesday she became worried about her husband when he left their home without warning a day earlier and wasn't answering his phone.

As we first told you, tWitch had checked into a motel less than a mile from his home Monday carrying a small bag. Hotel employees checked in on his room Tuesday after he missed checkout and discovered him dead in the bathroom from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Floyd Mayweather is in the giving mood this holiday season -- hooking up his closest friends (and himself) -- with over a million dollars worth of bling from famed jeweler, Johnny Dang!

TMZ Sports is told 50-0 Mayweather hit up the Houston-based grill king -- one of the most popular jewelers amongst celebs and athletes -- and commissioned two giant "TMT" pendants and chains.

But, that's not all Floyd bought. Not even close.

We're also told he copped 50 chains, each costing $25K, to give to his closest family and friends. One of the pieces went to Deon Taylor, producer of Floyd's upcoming docuseries, "The G.O.A.T.," who he surprised with the jewelry.

Speaking of the doc, Mayweather also ordered 100 customized "GOAT" jackets ... again, for some of his closest people.

This particular jacket was given to Money's good friend, Jona Rechnitz, and features two Stars of David on the right sleeve. Fellow doc producer James McNair also received a jacket.

Of course, Mayweather is one of, if not the highest-earning athlete over the last decade. For 30 minutes of ring time with Conor McGregor, Floyd reportedly raked in around $300 million.

Megan Thee Stallion's former bestie, Kelsey Nicole Harris, still has a bad case of courtroom amnesia, and about all she can recall is ... Tory Lanez didn't pay her off.

Kelsey was back on the stand Thursday for her second day of testimony in Tory's trial for allegedly shooting Meg in her feet -- and much like Wednesday, Kelsey's suddenly claiming she doesn't remember any details from the night of the shooting.

Under cross-examination, Tory's attorney asked Kelsey if Tory paid her anything and she said, "No. I want to make it very clear ... Tory didn't pay me anything."

That was pretty much her longest response all day. Earlier, the prosecution asked if she remembered telling them during a September interview "that Tory tried to bribe you?" She said, "I don't remember what I said in September."

She also did not recall telling prosecutors in September that Tory fired the gun, or seeing Megan limping after the gunshots were fired that night in July 2020.

As for why she's apparently changing her story from September, Kelsey said she was "receiving pressure" back then. When asked from what or whom ... she offered the oddly vague, "from everything."

When asked squarely, "Who shot [Megan]?" ... Kelsey said, "I don't know."

On Wednesday, Kelsey swore under oath she wasn't the one who pulled the trigger, which, logically speaking, only leaves Tory and the driver of the SUV as potential suspects ... and no one's ever alleged the driver fired the shots.

She also repeatedly said "no" when asked if she was afraid of Tory, or if she'd spoken to him or Meg or their attorneys.

Kelsey, who prior to yesterday everyone believed would be the key witness, will be back on the stand after a lunch break.

We smell a bunch of one-word responses coming. Stay tuned!

Tennis legend Boris Becker is a free man -- the world's former #1-ranked player has been released from prison in the UK after serving 8 months for bankruptcy fraud.

The 55-year-old is out earlier than expected -- he was originally handed 2.5 years behind bars in April after being convicted on four charges stemming from his 2017 bankruptcy case ... and the judge said at the time Becker would have to serve half his sentence in jail.

Attorney Christian-Oliver Moser says Becker has returned to his home country of Germany following his release, where he is "not subject to any penal restrictions."

Had Becker chosen to stay in the UK -- where he's lived since 2012 -- he would have faced deportation, according to PA Media.

As we previously reported, Becker was accused of moving large sums of money from his business account after declaring bankruptcy in 2017 ... as well as concealing assets and debts. He was facing up to 7 years behind bars.

The threads LeBron James wore as he secured his second NBA Finals MVP can be yours -- but ya better have some serious coin layin' around to pay for it!!

Sotheby's Auction tells TMZ Sports ... the King's Game 7 jersey from the classic 2013 series against the Spurs is hitting the block -- and could come with a price tag of over $3 MILLION!!!

James wore the #6 red and white gear in the first half of the thrilling contest -- the first Game 7 of his NBA Finals career -- and Sotheby's officials say it's "the most valuable LeBron James jersey to ever be offered at auction and among the most valuable jerseys of all time."

Nearly a decade ago, LBJ and the Miami Heat beat San Antonio 98-88 in the finale of the 2013 NBA Finals -- making it James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade's second-straight championship together.

'Bron won his second Finals MVP in the process ... locking in the honor after scoring 37 points and adding 12 rebounds.

"This game ranks as one of the most important performances of LeBron's career, during what has been widely debated as his greatest NBA season," Sotheby's officials said.

Elon Musk claims a "crazy stalker" put his son in danger, and now the Twitter honcho's threatening to take legal action against someone who's publicly exposing his location ... which he believes led to the attack.

Elon tweeted Wednesday night that a car carrying his 2-year-old boy, "lil X," was followed by an unknown person ... adding they later blocked the vehicle and climbed onto the hood.

He also posted a clip of the alleged stalker, showing their license plate -- asking "Anyone recognize this person or car?"

In a clearly related move, he says legal action's being taken against programmer Jack Sweeney, the person who started Elon's flight-tracking account in 2020.

This call-out came shortly after Elon dropped a new rule for Twitter -- "Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info."

Elon notes people are allowed to post locations someone's been at on a "slightly delayed basis," saying it isn't a safety problem.

Jack's account has since been suspended, and many online see that move as a sign Elon's free speech pledge is a one-way street -- as soon as the "free speech" harmed him, he shut it down.

The collapse of the famed crypto exchange FTX is spurring lots of finger-pointing, but on the issue of whether its celeb spokespeople are partially to blame ... Congress has different opinions.

We got Rep. Al Lawson Wednesday at Reagan National Airport, where we asked what he made of all the famous folks who served as ambassadors for FTX in its heyday -- which undoubtedly influenced normies to invest, and potentially lose buckets of cash amid its bankruptcy.

The Florida congressman makes no bones about it ... telling us accountability has to be shared by all parties involved, including the rich and famous -- whom he says can survive financial loss way better than your average Joe.

He also offers some advice on any future crypto endorsements ... warning celebs (and everyday laypeople) to proceed with caution, 'cause this biz is a high-risk gamble.

On the flip side ... Rep. Ritchie Torres actually defended FTX celebs when we caught up with him on Capitol Hill -- this amid ongoing congressional hearings on the matter, where lawmakers are trying to make big picture decisions about crypto.

Check out his take -- it's the opposite of Rep. Lawson's ... as he thinks this disaster falls into the lap of one person and one person only. Hint: the dude's in the criminal hot seat now.

Floyd Mayweather isn't waiting until Dec. 25 to put on his Santa hat -- the legendary boxer gave a group of 5 kids $1,000 each as a Christmas present after the Clippers game!!

TMZ Sports is told ... Mayweather met with the kids following the Clippers' 113-93 victory over the Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on Monday ... and made their day unforgettable by surprising them with some holiday cash.

The video is really adorable -- the kids were ecstatic that Mayweather, who they refer to as "Uncle Floyd," chose to hook them up with the dough ... adding that "TBE" always looks out for them when they run into each other.

"You always help us out when we see you," one kid said ... as another added, "We love you, Floyd."

Of course, these are the same youngins who Floyd sent to the Clippers game against the Pelicans in October ... holding up on his promise that he'd give them the amazing experience on his dime -- after spotting them selling candy outside the Ritz-Carlton in LA.

Floyd also got some facetime with Celtics star Jaylen Brown while hanging in Crypto on Monday night - but the kids' reaction to his generosity was the best part of the night.

Shaquille O'Neal was forced to sell his share in the Kings earlier this year, but the Big Fella tells TMZ Sports he's interested in getting back in the owner's box ... but this time, he wants to be "heavily involved!"

O'Neal joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where the Hall of Famer was asked about potential ownership interest in the Phoenix Suns, an organization Shaq previously played for towards the end of his career. While Shaq made it clear there hasn't been movement with the Suns, he does wish to own an NBA team.

"I haven't had any discussions with my partners, so I can't make the statement yet, but we're still looking to be heavily involved in purchasing an NBA team," Shaq told us.

A few months back Shaq again told us he was interested in buying Robert Sarver's Phoenix team, but didn't wish to bid against Jeff Bezos (or "Big Man JB," as Shaq calls him), who was reportedly interested in acquiring the team.

But, now Bezos has his sights set -- along with Jay-Z -- on the Washington Commanders.

Speaking of football ... we asked Shaq if he had any interest in owning an NFL franchise.

"Yeah, but this time around when I purchase a team, I want to be heavily involved. I would like it to be in a place where I'm living at. If it ain't the Dolphins, the Cowboys, or the Raiders, and those teams are way too expensive for me, but my main man JB can write that check!"

Sports franchise ownership isn't new to Shaq. He owned a small piece of the Sacramento Kings, which he sold in January (he had a conflict with another business). O'Neal originally bought into ownership 2013. Vivek Ranadive, an Indian-American business executive, is the majority owner.

We also talked to Shaquille about his epic Super Bowl party, Shaq's Fun House ... considered by many the best party in all of Super Bowl week! O'Neal made the announcement with TMZ Sports ... the 5th year in a row he's thrown the star-studded event.

"We're just gonna have a great time. This is the 5th year. Prior to even doing Shaq's Fun House, I would attend all the Super Bowl parties and it's just a bunch of standing around and talking," Shaq said, and it wasn't all that fun.

Enter Shaq and his partners.

"We wanted to bring the top DJs in, the top performers in, we wanted to bring some circus acts, some carnival rides, some food trucks. Just want to have a great time."

In addition to Shaq DJ'ing, Snoop Dogg and Diplo will also be performing.

Larsa Pippen is sticking to her story, insisting to Andy Cohen she and Michael Jordan's son are just friends ... even as he sat just a few feet away from her on Andy's show.

The reality star played coy to the max on Monday night on 'Watch What Happens Live' -- where Marcus Jordan was in the audience ... for moral support, we're sure. 😉

Of course, Andy tried to grill her, asking Larsa what her ex, NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, thinks about her dating his nemesis' son.

Larsa totally tried to downplay it, telling Andy she has no idea what Scottie thinks about it, and says they've never discussed Marcus.

While she understands why people might have questions -- their 17-year age gap and the fact Marcus was a kid when Scottie and MJ were Chicago Bulls teammates -- Larsa says their families were never tight.

As we've reported ... Marcus and Larsa have been hanging out in public since September, often showing PDA around Miami, and looking every bit like a couple. Hell, the guy even flew to NY with her for Andy's show!

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, has settled 2 lawsuits against the city of Louisville over the botched raid at his apartment that took her life more than 2 years ago.

Walker's attorneys say he'll get $2 million from Louisville over his state and federal suits filed against the city. One of his lawyers, Steve Romines, said Breonna's death would "haunt Kenny for the rest of his life."

He added, "He will live with the effects of being put in harm’s way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor."

Kenneth claimed the police violated his rights by not announcing themselves in 2020 when they busted into his home, and that they used excessive force in gunning down Breonna. Remember, whether the cops actually knocked or not was the subject of much scrutiny.

After insisting they knocked and announced themselves several times, a handful of Louisville PD officers breached the premises ... and Kenneth opened fire, believing an intruder was trying to get into the home. When one officer was hit, they shot back and killed Breonna.

The issue of "no-knock" warrants fell under a microscope in the wake of all this -- while the officers did, in fact, obtain such a warrant ... they say they knocked anyway, but Walker has maintained all along he didn't hear a peep and was simply protecting himself.

None of the officers involved has been criminally charged in direct connection to Breonna's death -- only for conduct related to the case, like wanton endangerment. Walker was charged with attempted murder at first, but that was dropped.

Christina Ricci and her ex are in agreement ... about their divorce, anyway, and it looks like she's keeping their L.A. home and her movie money -- but she'll cough up a bunch of dough to even things out.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Christina is getting the house in the San Fernando Valley ... while she and her ex-husband, film producer James Heerdegen, will split the money from the upcoming sale of their place in NYC.

Christina, who's repped by attorney Samantha Spector, will keep all of the residuals and royalties for her work. As for James, he gets a Subaru -- along with his personal belongings, and a one-time payment of $189,687 from Christina.

There's no spousal or child support according to the docs ... but Christina will pay for 100% of private school, and any uncovered medical expenses for their 8-year-old son, Freddie.

They'll have joint legal custody, but she makes the tiebreaking call on things like major medical and educational decisions. As for physical custody, that's also split between Christina and James ... although she has primary custody.

The price tag to keep Aaron Judge in pinstripes was expensive ... but according to CC Sabathia, the outfielder was worth every penny of the $360 MILLION deal!

Judge finally decided to re-sign with the Yankees last week -- opting to stay with his original team instead of going to either San Francisco or San Diego -- and the move certainly didn't come cheap for NY.

The Yanks agreed to pay him $40 million per season for the next NINE years -- a massive contract for a 30-year-old.

But, when we got Sabathia with his wife, Amber, out at their PitCCh In Foundation charity event in New Jersey on Monday, the ex-Yankees star made it clear -- his old team didn't get fleeced in the pact.

"I think he got paid the perfect amount," CC said of Judge.

Of course, CC might be biased -- he was a teammate of Judge's for four years in the Bronx -- but a lot of people would agree nonetheless. Judge is coming off one of the greatest MLB seasons ever ... where he hit an AL record 62 home runs, batted .311, and won his first-ever MVP award.

As for what the Yankees have to do next this offseason ... Sabathia says they don't need to get Carlos Rodón to consider things a success -- given the way the Judge situation all unfolded.

"The biggest signing was to get Aaron Judge," he said. "And they got that accomplished. So, everything after that is just icing on the cake."

By the way, Sabathia's event Monday was super cool -- he and Amber helped 300-plus kids have an awesome holiday party at Space Events in Englewood ... that featured video games, bowling, dancing and more.