Money

Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" became a $100k nightmare for one Texas woman, who told cops she was hoodwinked into forking over a fortune to someone passing as the singer.

The alleged victim was 63 when she told cops in Houston she made an IG account in 2018, and connected with someone claiming to be Bruno. She says the person developed an online relationship with her and eventually asked for cash.

Of course, as is oftentimes the case with these stories, she says she cut a couple of checks and put 'em in the mail, as instructed -- one for $10k, and another $90k.

Police say the money found its way into the bank account of one Chinwendu Azuonwu -- a local man who was taken into custody on money laundering charges, along with an alleged accomplice, Basil Amadi, who's facing similar charges. Both men were in court this week.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, 2 cashier's checks were made out to "Chi Autos" at the behest of the fake Bruno, to cover “tour expenses” ... that's what he told the woman, anyway. She says he also told her he was leaving the tour to come be with her.

Cops told local news outlets they believe these men may be low-level crooks working for scammers overseas -- and are hoping they cooperate to help uncover a potentially bigger criminal ring.

Dr. Dre's estranged wife is looking into whether the mogul is funding the lifestyles of his alleged mistresses ... and she wants to talk financials with them.

Nicole Young wants three women whom she claims were intimate with Dre during their marriage to sit for depositions ... and according to new docs, obtained by TMZ, she's looking to ask them if Dre lavished them with money and gifts.

In the docs, Nicole claims the women's lawyer is trying to delay their depositions until the validity of the prenup is decided ... but Nicole wants answers sooner rather than later, because she says it could affect spousal support and the validity of her prenup itself.

Specifically, Nicole says one of the women bought a $2.15-million house free and clear in 2019 ... and she wants to ask if Dre provided the dough for the purchase.

As we reported ... Dre recently agreed to cut Nicole a $2 million check for temporary support, on top of the $293,306 a month he's already dishing out.

Okay, maybe the Super Bowl streaker deserves a little more credit than we thought ...

Yuri Andrade -- the man who broke onto the field while wearing a pink thong bathing suit -- says he came up with the idea for the stunt after seeing a prop bet that offered GREAT ODDS if someone actually ran onto the field during the SB55.

Andrade explained the whole thing during an interview with WILD 94.1 -- saying the gambling website Bovada offered +750 odds ($100 bet pays $750) so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He called up everyone he knew and had them BET on someone storming the field -- then he got tickets to the game and recruited a buddy to serve as a decoy.

Andrade says once security was distracted by his pal -- he ran onto the field ... and the rest is history.

The 31-year-old says he also sent someone to Vegas to make the prop bet at a sportsbook there -- but he didn't identify which book took the action.

Bottom line ... Andrade says he walked away with $370,000 in profit!!

Of course, he was arrested and booked for trespassing -- but chalks the whole thing up as no big deal.

The worst part was he couldn't pick the wedgie that was up his ass while in custody because he was in handcuffs ... but he's clearly over that now.

We know what you're thinking ... is it even legal to make a bet and then personally interfere with the game to get the desired result?? We're looking into it.

But, until someone says otherwise ... tip of the cap to you, sir.

Conor McGregor is so rich, he craps gold!

Well, he probably will after taking down a gold-plated steak at Salt Bae's famous restaurant in Dubai!

The UFC superstar took his family to the Nusr-Et Steakhouse Dubai -- where social media's most famous slicer of meat broke out his sharpest knife to personally serve Conor.

The dish is known as the Golden Tomahawk -- which is a fancy wagyu cut wrapped in a 24-karat gold leaf.

Yes, it's edible. No, we don't know if it will actually make your dookie twinkle.

The steak is reportedly priced right around $1,000 -- but we don't know if Conor was charged the full amount. Hey, they say the wealthiest people get the most free stuff, right?!

Seems Conor has been on a spending spree ever since he took that "L" to Dustin Poirier on Fight Island at UFC 257 back on January 24. He even scooped up a fancy new Rolex, inspired by Tupac.

Dana White wouldn't tell us exactly how much Conor made for the fight -- but did say the final number was HIGH.

McGregor is expected to rake in even more cash in a trilogy fight with Poirier -- that's expected to go down around May (though nothing is confirmed yet).

Britney Spears' boyfriend, Sam Asghari, is telling the world how he really feels about her father -- calling Jamie Spears a "total dick" who's meddled in their relationship.

We got Sam at Bristol Farms in L.A. Tuesday, who certainly didn't pull any punches on the heels of a new Britney documentary that rips Jamie and the conservatorship -- Sam also teed off Tuesday morning on IG, saying he has "zero respect" for Brit's dad.

Britney's BF accuses her pops of trying to control their relationship and claims Jamie constantly throws obstacles in their way. Although he says he won't go into details, you can tell Sam has a lot more to say ... and now says he's not afraid to speak up.

Sam's outburst comes as 'Framing Britney Spears' is getting a lot of attention. The Hulu doc has fans fired up about how the pop star's been treated over the years by Jamie and others.

The TikToker who put Gorilla Glue in her hair is trying her luck in Bev Hills ... a plastic surgeon says he can remove the adhesive spray product from her rock-hard hair.

We've learned Tessica Brown's got an offer from Dr. Michael Obeng, who says he can fix her problems with a lengthy procedure.

We're told Tessica is flying Wednesday from Louisiana to Los Angeles to have the procedure done, and the good doc estimates it will take 2 or 3 days to completely rid her hair of Gorilla Glue.

Remember ... Tessica says her hair's been stuck in place for about a month, ever since substituting Gorilla Glue Spray Adhesive for her normal hair spray. She says home remedies and a trip to the ER yielded no results.

Our sources say Dr. Obeng feels so bad for Tessica, he's performing the procedure for free. It's no small gesture, we're told the estimated cost is $12,500.

Your friends will be yelling, "Hail to the Chief" if you're rocking the Barack Obamas -- a rare Nike shoe specifically designed for the ex-Prez -- and they'll also know you're rich as hell.

Sotheby's is hosting a one-of-a-kind sale of these Nike Hyperdunks in size 12.5 and designed for 44 back in 2009. Talk about an extremely rare pair of Nikes ... there are only 2 pairs in existence. The others were gifted to Obama.

According to Sotheby's ... these particular shoes -- influenced by the Hyperdunks created for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics -- were not worn by Obama, but they're Nike's only confirmation sample, and in pristine condition.

The price is a modest $25k. If you're inclined to say, "Just do it" ... the sale opens Friday at, yes, 4:44 PM ET.

Is it worth it? Well, the shoe's literally etched in POTUS lore -- official Presidential Seal on the tongue and an embroidered "44" and the insoles include the year "1776."

Justin Bieber may wanna drive despacito when he's behind the wheel of his futuristic Rolls-Royce ... 'cause everyone's gonna want to enjoy its awesomeness.

TMZ's obtained pictures of what the Biebs' custom 2018 Rolls-Royce Wraith looks like and it's so jaw-dropping, RoboCop's somewhere out there jealous AF. The boys over at West Coast Customs are the geniuses behind this 1 of 1 Wraith ... meaning it's one of a kind.

Have a look ... it went from your normally souped-up Rolls to this silver bullet masterpiece. Just 4 years ago, Rolls-Royce unveiled the 103EX ... a slick and super extreme concept car that measured 19.4 feet long and we're told the inspiration behind WCC's design.

That concept -- a 2-seater with a panoramic sunroof -- also featured massive, half-concealed wheels and a super-tall grille. Fast forward to now -- or in Justin's case, the future -- the Biebs' ride features concealed wheels and a mean grille too.

No panoramic sunroof for Justin ... but there's no denying it oozes luxury. BTW, the Rolls-Royce Wraith goes for around $330k ... so you can imagine what it cost to turn Justin's Rolls into a piece of machinery that looks straight outta NASA.

The famous megamansion from "Schitt's Creek" has a for sale sign in the yard ... and you can live like the TV family used to, if you've got some pretty deep pockets.

The mansion used in the TV series is back on the market for a cool $15 million ... which buys you 12 bedrooms and 24,000 square feet of lavish living.

The estate, known as the La Belle Maison, is tricked out with a home theater, gym, billiard room, wine cellar, sauna, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, plus a game room with a golf simulator.

The three-story home, tucked in Toronto's ritzy St. Andrew-Winfields neighborhood, is designed with marble stairs, carved limestone, fancy balconies and a bunch of frescoes that make you feel like you're in the Sistine Chapel.

There's also a gourmet kitchen that opens to a private patio, plus a formal dining room and a double reception room. The home is listed by Khoren Mardoyan at HomeLife/Vision Realty Brokerage.

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.