Money

Robinhood's got blood on its hands, according to the parents of a young trader who took his life ... falsely thinking he was $730,000 in the red, and now they're suing.

The parents of 20-year-old Alex Kearns filed suit Monday against Robinhood, accusing the stock-trading app of wrongful death in the college student's June suicide.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Alex's parents claim he killed himself one day after Robinhood posted a notice restricting his account showing he was in the hole a whopping $730k and told him he needed to come up with around $170k ASAP.

Alex's parents claim the initial notice was misleading and inaccurate, and they say Alex was shocked at what he owed and tried to contact Robinhood for clarification, but all he got was a boilerplate email response.

Alex killed himself by stepping in front of an oncoming train, and his parents claim he left a suicide note wondering ... "How was a 20-year-old with no income able to get assigned almost a million dollars' worth of leverage? There was no intention to be assigned this much and take this much risk, and I only thought I was risking the money I actually owned."

His parents claim the note ended with, "A painful lesson. F**k Robinhood."

The saddest part ... Robinhood allegedly emailed Alex the day after his suicide, suggesting he didn't actually owe 6 figures.

In addition to wrongful death, Alex's parents are also suing Robinhood for unfair business practices.

A Robinhood spokesperson tells us, “We were devastated by Alex Kearns’ death. Since June, we’ve made improvements to our options offering. These include adding the ability to exercise contracts in the app, guidance to help customers through early assignment, updates to how we display buying power, more educational materials on options, and new financial criteria and revised experience requirements for new customers seeking to trade Level 3 options. "

We're also told the app's added live voice support for customers and changed protocols to get faster help for customers who email questions.

Tyrann Mathieu can come through big time for PETA if he intercepts Tom Brady in the big game ... a fan is dangling a 6-figure carrot for the dog-loving Kansas City Chiefs star.

The animal rights org tells TMZ ... an anonymous fan has offered to donate a whopping $100,000 to PETA if Tyrann makes an interception in the Super Bowl.

We're told the money is earmarked for PETA's fieldwork team, which operates in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and provides free pet services to low-income communities.

$100k would go a long way for dogs in distress in those areas ... PETA's fieldwork team provides free food deliveries, custom-built doghouses and straw bedding, plus flea, tick and fly-strike prevention to those poor pooches struggling through another rough winter.

Tyrann, known as the Honey Badger for much of his football career, is a longtime PETA supporter with a special place in his heart for man's best friend.

In fact, Tyrann's the star of two viral PETA videos ... he once trapped himself in a hot car to demonstrate what happens to dogs locked in the same situation, and also shivered inside a walk-in freezer to illustrate how dogs suffer when they're left outdoors on frigid nights.

PETA tells us they'll be cheering Tyrann on Sunday when his Chiefs take on Brady's Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55 down in Tampa, knowing he'd be stoked to secure the big donation.

Tyrann intercepted TB12 when the two teams met in the regular season ... can he do it again???

Elon Musk is giving Dogecoin major street cred in the tech/finance world -- but says while it's got potential to be the king of crypto ... ya might not wanna go all-in on this gamble.

We got the Tesla chief out Friday night at BOA in WeHo ... where he was signing a slew of autographs and posing for pics, masked up. Man, it's been a while since we've seen this.

Anyway, we got to talking to him about the new cryptocurrency that's all the rage these days -- Dogecoin, which Elon and other celebs have been propping up lately ... this as traders (both amateur and otherwise) have been praying for it to go "to the moon."

Elon tweeted Doge is the "people's crypto" and he doubled down with us -- saying that the will of the people will determine its worth, and that he's down to give it some exposure if it facilitates Doge's growth to that end. BTW, Dogecoin has risen by some 600% since last year ... it was once trading at well below a penny -- and it's gotten as high as 8 cents of late.

So, yes ... it could very well be the next Bitcoin -- which is worth $40k these days -- but Elon does note the fact that Doge doesn't have a cap or finite limit hurts it in the long run.

He also gives some great advice to new investors looking to get into the crypto game -- and it basically amounts to this ... sure, roll the dice ... but not all your dice. Watch for yourself.

One last thing -- Elon tells us crypto appears to be where money's headed, but the question still remains ... which one will come out on top??? He vouches for Dogecoin as having a shot at being top ... well, dog. What started out as a meme/joke could be your next bank.

Jamaica's experiencing another unfortunate effect of both climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic ... there's a severe weed shortage.

It's mostly affecting the Caribbean nation's illegal market, which is reeling after last year's hurricane season wrecked marijuana fields and the ensuing drought made it even worse.

On top of all that ... a strict 6 PM curfew, put in place because of the coronavirus, prevented farmers from taking care of the crops at night, which is vital to production.

And, while supply is low, consumption and demand have remained high because ... well, there's a pandemic, and this is Jamaica.

Want to see LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokic take on Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid next month??

Apparently, De'Aaron Fox doesn't ... 'cause the Sacramento Kings star ripped the NBA on Wednesday for reportedly trying to put together an All-Star Game this season in the middle of a pandemic.

"If I'm going to be brutally honest," Fox said, "I think it's stupid."

"If we have to wear a mask and do all of this for a regular game, then what's the point of bringing the All-Star Game back?"

The NBA, according to ESPN, is trying to lock in an agreement with the Players Association to hold the annual classic on March 7 in Atlanta.

If safe, it seems like a great idea -- the NBA routinely has the most entertaining All-Star Game of any of the four major sports.

But, Fox -- who has a shot at being selected this year -- clearly would rather not see it ... given all the risks of COVID involved.

"Obviously, money makes the world go round," Fox said. "So, it is what it is."

Fox, though, did say he'd play in the All-Star Game if selected ... but with a smile, he noted, "If you're supposed to be in it, and you're not hurt and you decide not to play, that's a hefty fine."

"So, hell yeah I would play in it."

Screw the future -- Kodak Black's present is looking super bright, literally.

The rapper's post-prison look is filled with diamonds all over his body ... from his new diamond-crusted grills to massive bling hanging around his neck, wrist and fingers. We don't know how much it's all worth, but it's super icy ... and pricy, for sure.

One thing's for sure ... Kodak's enjoying his newfound freedom since former President Trump commuted Kodak's sentence last month. As we reported, the rapper was one of the 142 either pardoned or freed from prison.

Kodak, who had been sentenced to 46 months in prison for making a false statement on a Federal document, served nearly half his sentence. The pardon statement had noted Kodak's charitable contributions in various ways, "such as providing educational resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and the underprivileged."

Kodak also donated $50k to Dave Portnoy's Barstool Fund, which provides financial assistance to struggling businesses in the wake of COVID.

A super-rare Michael Jordan signed basketball card just sold for over $1.4 MILLION at auction ... SMASHING the previous record price for an MJ card by over $500K!!

The piece is a 1997 Upper Deck Game Jersey Michael Jordan card -- one of only 23 ever produced.

The card is numbered 8/23 -- but more importantly, it features a clear signature and a piece of the actual jersey MJ wore during the legendary 1992 NBA All-Star game!

The card was graded by PSA (one of the top names in authentication and card grading) as a "Near Mint 7" ... and the signature quality was graded a "Near Mint 8."

The card -- which measures 3.5" by 2.5" -- hit the block at Heritage Auctions and after 61 bids, it sold on Feb. 4 for $1.44 MILLION!

The previous record price for a Jordan card was $915K -- also auctioned off by Heritage a few months back -- for the green-shaded 1997 Michael Jordan Metal Universe Precious Metal Gem card.

The price is shocking ... but it's not really surprising. The value of MJ items has EXPLODED since ESPN's series "The Last Dance" aired in 2020.

Everything from Jordan's old Mercedes-Benz to game-worn Nikes to canceled checks (yes, really) have sold for exorbitant prices.

Heritage says the record buyer of the MJ signed jersey card wishes to remain anonymous ... at least for now.

As for the 1992 All-Star game, Jordan was a starter for the Eastern Conference team  (along with Scottie Pippen, Isiah Thomas, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing) ... scoring 18 points, and dishing out 5 assists.

The '92 ASG was special not only because it was jam-packed with future Hall of Famers ... it also marked the memorable return of Magic Johnson -- who retired after the 1991-1992 season after announcing he had HIV.

Jake Paul is flipping the script on Floyd Mayweather -- issuing his own list of demands if Floyd is serious about wanting to fight him in 2021.

... so why does Jake feel like he's got the upper hand?

Paul says it's pretty simple ... claiming Mayweather is an aging fighter who's only taking exhibitions because he knows he would LOSE if he took another pro fight.

That's why Jake says if Floyd is serious about a scrap, he REFUSES to do an exhibition match -- it has to be a sanctioned bout that would count on both of their records.

"I'm 2 and 0 with 2 KO's with pro fights," Jake says ... "If Floyd wants to do these exhibitions, ya know ... cool! But, I'm a real fighter. He has to take me seriously and I think the reason he wants to do these exhibitions is because he's afraid to risk his legacy of his 50 and 0 record in case he were to lose."

"But, I'm not doing the exhibition s**t. It doesn't interest me. Those are like fake patty-cake fights."

Of course, Floyd is set to take on Jake's older brother, Logan, in an exhibition match later this year ... and he's also toying with the idea of fighting his former BFF, 50 Cent.

Jake says the whole thing reeks of desperation.

"This guy is out of his mind! He just calls me out, out of nowhere -- same with 50 Cent! I mean, he hasn't even fought my brother yet. It just seems like he's losing his marbles ... like what the f*** is this guy doing?!"

Jake also thinks there's another motivating factor behind the scenes for Floyd ... money!

"It just seems like this guy is money hungry. It seems like he hasn't paid his taxes or some s**t and he just wants to fight everyone."

But first, Jake needs to focus on his next opponent, UFC star Ben Askren -- the two will step in the ring on April 17.

Despite Askren's impressive career as an MMA fighter, Jake says he wasn't impressed by new video of Ben hitting the heavy bag in his boxing gym.

COVID is now affecting the Super Bowl gambling world -- with sportsbooks taking real action on which teams and coaches will break coronavirus protocol first.

... seriously.

With Tampa Bay Bucs coach Bruce Arians and Chiefs honcho Andy Reid both experiencing some mask issues during the NFL season ... the folks at BetOnline.ag believe it's a certainty one of the coaches will drop their face covers on Sunday.

But, whose nose will get exposed first?

The odds favor Arians ... ya gotta bet $250 to win $100. Reid is the underdog, which is probably a good thing for him. A $100 bet on Andy pays $170 if he shows his nose first.

If wagering on COVID ain't your thing ... there's plenty more action.

-- Will Gisele appear on the Super Bowl game broadcast more than 1.5 times?

-- Will the announcers mention President Trump during the broadcast?

-- Which will be mentioned first during the broadcast -- Patrick Mahomes is getting married or Patrick Mahomes is becoming a father?

-- There are also odds on what color jacket The Weeknd will be wearing when he is first seen on the broadcast. Red is a heavy betting favorite ... followed by Black and then White. Blue and Purple are 7-to-1 long shots.

-- What's more: Tackles + Assists for Jason Pierre Paul or fingers on the right hand of Jason Pierre Paul (he's the guy who lost some of his fingers in a fireworks accident a few years back).

-- What's more: Total points scored in the Super Bowl or Senate votes to convict Donald Trump?

You can also bet on the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach -- orange is the favorite followed by red, lime green, blue, clear ... and again, purple is the long shot.

Here's a story with some meat on it -- a "stylish and shapely" bovine, much like her namesake, mooed down the competition for a world record! Oh yeah, and she's a Spice Girl.

The heifer's name is "Posh Spice," and she sold at auction in the U.K. city of Carlisle for a whopping £262,000 ... which is more than $358k.

The sale doubled the previous record, set in 2014, and the breeder, Christine Williams, compared the sum to winning the lottery ... though she says she knew the 1-year-old cow had the "x-factor" to make it happen.

Apparently, Spice's characteristics of larger loin depth, reduced-fat cover and greater meat tenderness turned the auction into a real cattle battle ... resulting in the record-setting price.

Phil Collins' ex cleaned up good at an auction for all of her jewelry and clothing ... including a $22k score for the singer's gold records and awards that had a severely low opening bid.

The folks over at Kodner Galleries in Florida auctioned off Orianne Cevey's collection of jewelry and clothing on Wednesday for a whopping $2,165,592. That number also included $22k for multiple gold LPs and "Assorted Phil Collins Awards."

We're told the first four auction lots -- the awards and gold records -- drew an extraordinary level of interest ... with more than 350 phone and online bids recorded. The final bidding price for those items -- which included a gold record of Robert Plant’s "The Principle of Moments" -- was a cool $6,325. Remember ... the opening bid was just one hundred bucks.

Because we know you're curious ... her fine jewelry collection netted $1,694,000. Five of her watches -- including 3 Rolex's and 2 Patek Philippe -- hauled in $235,572. And, some of her designer purses and clothing brought home $61,435. What's she gonna do with all the money? We're told a portion of the sales will be donated to Orianne's charity, Never Give Up Foundation.

For those who missed out on this auction ... ya need not worry. Kodner is holding a second auction featuring similar items from Orianne next month.

YOU GOTTA SEE THE MASSIVE TROPHY ROOM IN SERENA WILLIAMS' MIAMI MANSION!!!

Oh, and you also have to see when she discovers a 2nd place trophy on one of her shelves -- and says she's moving it to the TRASH!!!

"I see a 2nd place trophy but I’m gonna put that one in the trash -- shouldn’t be in here. We don't keep second place."

The tennis goddess opened up the doors to her Miami home for Architectural Digest ... showing off everything from her own private art gallery (!!!!!) to the bar, media room and more.

But, the highlight for us is the Trophy Room ... which contains hardware from her victories at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, Australian Open, French Open and more.

It's unreal.

Serena has so many trophies, she can barely keep track of what trophies she has and where some of them are located ... and if that's not the most baller thing ever, what the hell is?!

Of course, Serena has won 39 Grand Slam titles in her amazing career -- 23 in singles, 14 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She also has 4 Olympic gold medals.

The Salvation Army has a new soldier -- and it's LaMelo Ball ... who just donated 500 blankets to help the homeless in Charlotte keep warm during an ice-cold winter.

A spokesperson for the Charlotte Salvation Army tells TMZ Sports ... the donation marks Melo's first time working with the organization, but they're very excited to partner up with the 19-year-old Charlotte Hornets rookie.

And, the donation couldn't come at a better time ... we're told Charlotte has seen a 25% increase in the homeless population since the COVID pandemic began. Plus, temperatures in the area are expected to dip into the low 20s in the next few weeks.

"There's a lot of need out there so we're thankful when people like LaMelo step up to provide something like this," the spokesperson tells us.

NBC Charlotte's Ashley Stroehlein visited one of the Salvation Army locations that received some of the blankets ... and the staff was stoked!!

And, by the way ... we're told several Charlotte Hornets players have a great relationship with the Salvation Army. Same with the Carolina Panthers.

So, props to everyone helping out ... especially when families need it the most.

Kevin Hart's new muscle car is packing more power under the hood than his last one that wrecked ... and this souped-up ride's got some critical, upgraded safety features.

Kevin's new set of wheels -- a revamped 1970 Dodge Charger dubbed "Hellraiser" -- has an insanely powerful 1,000-horsepower Hemi engine. And, with all that HP it has potentially life-saving, 4-point racing seat belts and a roll cage.

Remember ... Kevin's 1970 Barracuda did not have a 5-point harness and roll cage, which car experts say could have spared him the horrendous injuries he suffered in Sept., 2019, when his friend crashed in the Malibu Hills. KH needed spinal surgery and lengthy rehab.

Sounds like the "Hellraiser" could leave Kevin's old Barracuda in the dust ... his new ride has power for days under the hood ... a 7.0-liter Hellephant 426 Hemi Crate engine with 950 lb-ft of torque routing through an 8-speed automatic transmission!!!

O.J. Simpson is still DEEEEEEEP in the hole to the Goldman Family -- only paying $132,849.53 ... despite reportedly owing more than $70 MILLION.

... it's all according to new court documents filed by Fred Goldman in Nevada in the hopes of collecting from the ex-NFL star in the state where Simpson now lives.

Of course, back in 1997 ... O.J. was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the Goldman family after he was found liable in the killing of Ron Goldman, who was slashed to the death along with Nicole Brown Simpson in Brentwood, CA in 1994.

Interest has caused the initial $33.5 million to balloon -- it was at $57 mil in 2015, according to Goldman and there are reports that number has now cracked $70 mil.

Simpson spent several years in prison for a 2007 armed robbery -- but in 2018, after he was released, Fred Goldman claimed O.J. had resumed making money from signing autographs for collectors and he wasn't handing over the proceeds to satisfy the judgment.

So, he's filed new court docs in Nevada to keep the heat on Simpson, who regularly flaunts a carefree life on social media which shows him bouncing from golf course to golf course in the Las Vegas area, instead of hunting for "the real killer."