TMZ.com

Anyone lucky enough to score a ticket to Super Bowl LV better not try their luck with sex workers while they're partying and having fun, because you'll probably get arrested!

That's right, fellas ... Josh Singleton, Commander of the Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force, tells TMZ ... his team of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers ain't messin' around when it comes to sex workers -- and if you get caught messin' around with them, you're gonna wind up in handcuffs!

Singleton gives everyone fair warning ... "Come have a good time at the Super Bowl. Don't engage in commercial sex because we're out in force and we're enforcing the laws!"

The stepbrother of Anna Kepner -- who was found asphyxiated during a family cruise vacation -- was arrested this week and appeared in a Florida courthouse Friday to face a judge, TMZ has confirmed.

According to a law enforcement source ... the 16-year-old stepbrother was led by U.S. Marshals into a Miami federal courtroom for an appearance ... but since he's a juvenile, the case was sealed. It's unclear if he has been charged in a federal complaint or indictment.

After his court appearance, the stepbrother was released to the custody of a guardian, according to ABC News.

On November 7, Kepner's body was reportedly discovered inside the cabin she shared with her stepbrother on the Carnival Horizon. She was allegedly asphyxiated after someone put her in a chokehold.

More legal trouble for Stefon Diggs ... he's getting slapped with a lawsuit a couple days before his New England Patriots play in Super Bowl LX.

The Patriots star wide receiver is being sued for defamation and more ... according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, a man who claims he used to work for Stefon says in July 2024, Stefon requested he arrange for Stefon's Ferrari to be transported from Miami to New York and then to Houston ... but he says the Ferrari was stolen in Houston.

The guy claims law enforcement concluded the Ferrari was stolen by third parties in a sophisticated theft ... but he says Stefon started telling people in their circles that the guy stole the car.

The California man facing federal charges for allegedly texting Nancy Guthrie's family about the bitcoin ransom payment has been granted bond by a judge -- and may be outta federal custody in no time.

Derrick Callella, a 42-year-old man from Hawthorne, made his first court appearance Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott ordered Callella to be released on $20,000 bond ... and he's been ordered to not to contact the alleged victims or witnesses.

Federal prosecutors claim Callella texted Nancy's daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."

"Home Alone" star Daniel Stern is off the hook after getting hooked by police for allegedly trying to hire a hooker ... 'cause the criminal case against him has been legally terminated.

According to court officials, Daniel's attorneys appeared in court Friday for the first time since prosecutors in California charged the actor with soliciting prostitution ... he wasn't there himself, but his case was heard and dismissed.

A rep for the Ventura County District Attorney tells TMZ ... "The defendant did what he was supposed to do. He completed his education class and earned a dismissal. This is our standard disposition for first-time prostitution offenses."

Actor Timothy Busfield has formally been indicted on child sex abuse charges in New Mexico.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the charges against Busfield, which include four counts of Criminal Sexual Contact of a Child.

The development comes weeks after the 68-year-old filmmaker was arrested on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact of a minor. We told you all about it ... Busfield was accused of touching young brothers -- ages 7 and 8 -- on the set of "The Cleaning Lady" several times between November 2022 and spring 2024.

Luigi Mangione piped up for the first time in court ... claiming his case is clearly one of "double jeopardy" since he's being charged at both the state and federal level -- though it appears he's mistaken.

The alleged murderer appeared in court Friday while his legal team and federal prosecutors argued over a whole host of issues ... including whether state or federal prosecutors should get the first crack at him.

After the judge adjourned the court, officers led Luigi away ... and, he said, "One plus one is two, common sense tells you this is double jeopardy."

Finally, an arrest in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping, but it's not one of her captors ... it's a guy the feds claim sent text messages to Nancy's family asking them about bitcoin ... and the FBI says they don't believe the guy has any connection to the ransom note.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say a Los Angeles man named Derrick Callella texted Nancy's daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."

The FBI says the texts were sent Wednesday, shortly after 'TODAY' anchor Savannah Guthrie uploaded a video of her siblings making a plea to Nancy's captors. In the video, Savannah mentioned the ransom note, begged for proof of life and said they were ready to talk.

A teenage boy in Florida is facing a felony charge over a video that law enforcement says shows him intentionally setting his friend on fire on a beach.

The Marion County Sheriff's office says a 17-year-old kid in a viral video is seen creating a trail of gasoline from a campfire on the sand ... and splashing gas on another boy sitting nearby, causing him to light up. That kid ran into the lake to extinguish the flames.

The victim told his mom he got burned when he tried to throw a water bottle filled with gas into a fire ... but his dad found the video and called the sheriff. Cops later found the gas container in nearby shrubbery ... along with some "empty alcoholic beverage cans."

Jeffrey Epstein was put on the hot seat during a 2010 deposition over his criminal conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution ... but the pedophile financier didn't have a clue who his victim was, and even asked a lawyer, "What minor?"

In the stunning clip, Epstein tells the lawyer deposing him that he didn't know the name of his underage victim, but pled guilty anyway in 2009 to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He also pleaded guilty to another count of soliciting prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months in jail in Florida under a plea deal with prosecutors.

The 2010 deposition, released in the latest tranche of Epstein Files, opens with the lawyer repeatedly asking Epstein if any female he interacted with was a prostitute prior to meeting him. Epstein gives the same response each time, saying he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution. He then falsely claims he never pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an underage prostitute.

While most of the country was aghast at Anthony Weiner's relationship with a 15-year-old girl back in 2016, Woody Allen's wife, Soon-Yi Previn, seemed more disgusted with his victim ... according to an email exchange with Jeffrey Epstein.

In just-uncovered messages -- part of the millions of Epstein Files documents released by the Department of Justice -- Soon-Yi calls the minor "a despicable and disgusting person."

In one email, dated September 22, 2016, Soon-Yi writes ... "I know. It's an incredible story. You have to feel sorry for him. He can't seem to learn," referring to Weiner.

Then she takes a turn, going right at the underage female involved, writing ... "I also thought it was disgusting what the 15-year-old did to him."

She continued ... "I hate women who take advantage of guys and she is definitely one of them. She knew exactly what she was doing and how vulnerable Wiener was and she reeled him in like fish to bait."

One of Hollywood's biggest nightlife empires is now facing a major legal showdown ... and it's coming from someone who says she helped build the brand that celebrities made famous.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ ... Marsha Molinari, a longtime business partner of The h.wood Group -- the hospitality company behind celebrity hotspots Bootsy Bellows, Delilah, The Nice Guy, and The Peppermint Club -- is suing the company and its founders, claiming she was denied her share of a massive deal after more than 16 years helping grow the brand.

Molinari, a marketing and branding executive, says she was a co-founder and equal-thirds partner in The h.wood Group along with the two other founders, John Terzian and Brian Toll ... and she says she was treated publicly and privately as a co-equal partner for years.

Ryan Routh has been sentenced to life in prison ... months after he was found guilty of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon handed down Routh's sentence, which includes an additional seven years for a firearm offense, at a Fort Pierce, Florida courtroom on Wednesday, NBC News reports.

Prosecutors called Routh "totally unrepentant" for his crimes in a sentencing memorandum, adding ... "the heinous nature of this assassination attempt -- his selfish, violent decision to prevent the American voters from electing President Trump by killing him first -- that warrants severe criminal punishment."

FYI ... Routh was arrested after he tried to kill Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in September 2024, two months after a previous attempt on the presidential candidate's life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Authorities said Routh brought a weapon --  identified as an SKS-style rifle -- as well as two backpacks and a GoPro camera to the golf course.

The attempt was foiled after a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of the gun poking through a fence and shrubbery and fired a shot at Routh. Trump was reportedly about 400 yards from the scene on the course.

Routh fled in an SUV parked nearby ... he was apprehended by authorities later in the day about 50 miles from the club.

Routh left a letter with an admission of guilt at a residence near Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort, which partially read ... "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job."

Routh represented himself during his trial, and he was found guilty on several felony counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer, in September 2025. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen in court when his verdict was read.

Quinton Aaron's recovering in the hospital from a spinal stroke, but his family says the woman who is by his side and making medical decisions for him is fibbing about being his wife ... though she begs to differ.

The actor's brother, Jarred Aaron, tells TMZ ... the woman claiming to be his wife, Margarita Aaron, is actually married to another man. His immediate worry is she's misrepresenting herself as his legal wife to the medical staff at the hospital and is helping to make "crucial and life-saving medical decisions."

Margarita tells us ... she and Aaron "got spiritually married."

Tragedy struck Dog the Bounty Hunter's family last year when his 13-year-old step-grandson Anthony was shot and killed ... and now we've learned Dog's stepson Gregory Zecca has been arrested for the fatal accident.

According to Florida's Collier County Sheriff's Office ... Zecca was determined to have been under the influence of alcohol while he was handling the firearm last July. Law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant charging Zecca with aggravated manslaughter of a child with a firearm and using a firearm while under the influence.

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a statement ... "This was a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy. Our detectives conducted an exhaustive and thorough investigation, examining every element of what happened through witness statements, forensic testing, subpoenas, search warrants, and more. I commend their hard work and professionalism in uncovering the facts in an incredibly difficult case."

According to the investigation, Gregory was drinking for several hours before sitting down to watch a UFC fight on TV with his son at a friend's house. At the friend's house, Gregory continued to drink and got high on marijuana, authorities say.

Julia Roberts' sister-in-law Eliza Roberts accused Timothy Busfield of sexually harassing her over 30 years ago ... and now she says the alleged victims in the actor/director's recent child sex abuse charges should not be "vilified."

Photogs caught up with Eliza on Monday as she was headed to the movies in Los Angeles, where she tells us we should all believe the 2 brothers who claimed Busfield touched their private parts while on the set of the TV show, "The Cleaning Lady," in 2022, according to court documents. Prosecutors say the 7-year-old twins were actors and Busfield was the director.

Despite their accusations against the director, the boys originally told investigators Busfield never acted inappropriately toward them.