Teresa Giudice and her husband are in major trouble with the law. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today a 39-count indictment against The Real Housewives of New Jersey couple, alleging that the Giudices defrauded the IRS and a number of banks over an seven-year period that started in 2001. According to the legal filings, Teresa and Joe schemed to illegally obtain mortgages and other loans from various banks by purposely overestimating their incomes in order to garner more cash. As previously reported, the reality stars then withheld key information about their net worth when they filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Joe, meanwhile, is accused of failing to file income tax returns for all the years between 2004 and 2008, despite supposedly banking $1 million during that time. Overall, the charges levied against this couple include: Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Bank fraud, which carries a maximum of 30 years. TMZ reached out to Bravo for comment, but the network is yet to address the situation. Yikes.
Rihanna just pulled a Lindsay Lohan . No, not torpedoing her own career with felony charges and crippling addiction. Just flaking on a lawsuit deposition. The superstar’s ex-accountants have been trying to depose her for a long time. Rihanna claims they mismanaged her money and owe her millions. The accountants say Rihanna’s at fault, and that she’s been blowing off the deposition repeatedly, costing them massive sums in attorneys’ fees. As a result, the firm asked the judge to punish the star. The judge agreed, fining Rihanna a not-so-small amount of $47,050 for their legal bills. On top of that, Rihanna was ordered to sit for a deposition once and for all August 28. If she doesn’t show up, he might dismiss her claim altogether. Question is whether she’s too busy taking Rihanna nude photos to care.
The drama around Paula Deen continues today as reports say she has fired her legal team, led by the firm of Oliver Maner. Deen also fired her agent last week. Maner was defending her against a civil lawsuit filed by Lisa Jackson , a former manager of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House that Deen co-owns. A source close to Deen says “she and her team decided the previous attorneys were out of their depth,” so she hired a replacement, Grace Speights. The Washington, D.C.-based partner in Morgan Lewis’s Labor and Employment practice brings “one of the top labor firms in the country,” says the source. Her new legal team also consists of Patricia Glaser, whom The Hollywood Reporter calls one of America’s top entertainment power lawyers this year. Deen is continuing to work with the PR firm The Rose Group and has also hired Judy Smith, the inspiration for the main character, Olivia Pope, on Scandal . In all, she hopes to rebound from her dramatic downfall, in which she lost a multitude of business deals, following her admission to using racial slurs . Deen made that revelation during a legal deposition in connection with Lisa Jackson’s civil suit, which she denies the basis for and wants thrown out.
A straight father’s open letter to his young son regarding last week’s landmark Supreme Court rulings has gone viral, and it’s easy to see why. His four-year-old boy clearly has no concept of the Supreme Court or the significance of its decisions, as Brian Gresko of The Babble points out. The bigger question is whether the SCOTUS striking down DOMA and dismissing Prop 8 will be seen as a watershed moment when he does get it. It’s a touching letter about what a father hopes will be a teachable moment someday, and emblematic of his desire for our children to inherit a better world. Read what Gresko has to say below: Dear Felix, Your mom and I put off taking you for a blood test because, honestly, we figured you didn’t really need it, that the doctor’s concerns about the level of lead in your body were the routine kind of doctor’s orders we could ignore . Doc has since corrected us of that misconception, stressing the importance of the blood test. (And we wonder where your stubbornness comes from.) Ok, point taken. So, at least a year late, this morning we walked in to get your blood work done just as the waiting room television cut to the steps of the Supreme Court Building, where the announcement came that the Court had ruled 5-4 to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), declaring the law baring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages unconstitutional . You’re four-years-old as I write this. You seem to react to adults who make good eye contact, speak with animation, get down to your level to talk to you, and ask you questions that you understand and then listen to your answers. You click with men, you click with women, and as far as I can remember you only asked once about why one of your best friends has two mommies. When I told you that couples come in all combinations – woman and woman, man and woman, man and man – you nodded and that was that. No big deal. So sitting with you in the waiting room, I had one of those moments of double-ness that parents sometimes have, as I thought about the news and what it meant, watched the happy reactions from the crowd of marriage equality supporters, and wondered what celebration might be going on in other parts of New York City, all while talking with you about the upcoming blood test and reading you a story. I didn’t explain what was happening on the television, and you didn’t ask. I figured the time will come soon enough – probably too soon for my liking – when you’ll be aware of the politics around sex and gender and sexual orientation. Or maybe you won’t. Hopefully, these issues will be moot in seven years time, or ten years, whenever you become aware of your sexual self (let’s go with ten years, eh?) and begin to find other people compelling in ways that will, at first, probably seem strange or mysterious. (For example, I didn’t notice girls had legs till eighth grade. Before then, I’m not sure how they got around, their mobility was no concern of mine. Suddenly, when springtime came and the skirts came out, their long, skinny, graceful limbs became vitally important. And yet I had no idea why. I just found them… fascinating. I knew they were key characters, I just hadn’t figured out what the story was about yet.) Maybe you’ll read about today’s decision in a history book and it’ll sound like a long time ago, the Dark Ages, when certain couples could marry and certain couples could not. You’ll feel comfortable pursuing whatever kind of partnership interests you, no matter the person’s gender, or color, or race, or class, or belief system, or whatever, and live in a country in which you can join in the legal state of matrimony with that lucky person. I hope that by then American society will have a better understanding of what I saw all so plainly today. That if you prick our skin, the same red blood flows through all of our veins. These differences in appearance and behavior and belief in many ways are trivial, surface. How you treat other people, your stewardship of our planet and society and yourself as a functioning, contributing human on Earth, matters so much more than who you’d like to date, have sex with, or marry. As Kurt Vonnegut so succinctly put it, “You’ve got to be kind.” Other than that? Have fun, kid. And while this marriage thing sure ain’t easy – in fact, I don’t wish it on anyone who doesn’t feel ready, 100% sure they want to make their commitment into a socially recognized, legal bond – I’m happy knowing that if, one day, you think you’re ready to take the plunge, you can do it with whomever the hell you want. And I’ll be right there (unless you decide to elope like your mom and me decided, which is totally cool too), cheering you on and wishing you well, no matter whose hand you’re holding when you say “I do.” Love ya kid, Dad .
Shakira is about to put his bizness on blast. Shakira Says Ex Is Liar $250 million…..let us hold some of that when ya’ll stop fighting. According to TMZ It’s a good thing Shakira keeps her old emails … ’cause the pop star says she found an old cyber-exchange that proves her ex-BF is lying through his Argentinian teeth in his $250 million lawsuit. Shakira has filed a declaration in her legal war with Antonio De La Rua — who she dated from 2000 to 2010 — in which she adamantly denies A.D.L.R. has any right to her fortune, despite his claim that he’s entitled to a cut of her businesses. FYI — A.D.L.R. claims he wasn’t just Shak’s lover, he was also her business adviser and says she owes him a quarter of a BILLION dollars … based on an oral agreement the two struck back in 2004. But Shakira is calling B.S. on Antonio … claiming in 2011, he sent her an email in which he couldn’t have made it any clearer — “I am not a partner in any of your companies. You are the sole owner of all of them.” Shakira says he sent a similar email to her mother. In the legal docs, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Shakira also says she had hammered out a relationship contract back in 2006 — the equivalent of a prenup — that spelled out their financial obligations to one another in case they broke up. According to Shakira, both parties agreed back in ’06 to create a joint account worth $10k … which they would split if they broke up. Shakira says they also agreed to “renounce” any rights to future earnings. Shakira explains the point of the contract was to prevent a stupid lawsuit … like the one Antonio has filed. The case is due back in court later this month. Do you think Shakira will win?
Shakira is about to put his bizness on blast. Shakira Says Ex Is Liar $250 million…..let us hold some of that when ya’ll stop fighting. According to TMZ It’s a good thing Shakira keeps her old emails … ’cause the pop star says she found an old cyber-exchange that proves her ex-BF is lying through his Argentinian teeth in his $250 million lawsuit. Shakira has filed a declaration in her legal war with Antonio De La Rua — who she dated from 2000 to 2010 — in which she adamantly denies A.D.L.R. has any right to her fortune, despite his claim that he’s entitled to a cut of her businesses. FYI — A.D.L.R. claims he wasn’t just Shak’s lover, he was also her business adviser and says she owes him a quarter of a BILLION dollars … based on an oral agreement the two struck back in 2004. But Shakira is calling B.S. on Antonio … claiming in 2011, he sent her an email in which he couldn’t have made it any clearer — “I am not a partner in any of your companies. You are the sole owner of all of them.” Shakira says he sent a similar email to her mother. In the legal docs, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Shakira also says she had hammered out a relationship contract back in 2006 — the equivalent of a prenup — that spelled out their financial obligations to one another in case they broke up. According to Shakira, both parties agreed back in ’06 to create a joint account worth $10k … which they would split if they broke up. Shakira says they also agreed to “renounce” any rights to future earnings. Shakira explains the point of the contract was to prevent a stupid lawsuit … like the one Antonio has filed. The case is due back in court later this month. Do you think Shakira will win?
For all that is negatively written about Michael Jackson, he was without a doubt a loving, caring father who cherished every moment with his children. A collection of never-before-seen private family photos and home videos were shown in court Thursday, and they truly show MJ at his absolute best. Michael Jackson Home Videos The two videos, shot by Michael on Christmas 2006 and a few years earlier, were played for the jury in the family’s wrongful death lawsuit against AEG. It’s pretty wonderful, yet bittersweet as Michael asks each of his kids what they want to be when they grow up, and clearly loves every second of it. The idea behind releasing this material is to showcase the immeasurable loss the children suffered when Michael died (which they say AEG is to blame for ). Legal battle aside, Prince Jackson testified about MJ and how loving he was, and the videos and photos shown in court clearly drive that point home. Check out the Michael Jackson family photos after the jump:
Will whatever happened to picking up the phone and having a conversation? Damn. Will.i.Am. Takes Legal Action Against Pharrell This is some punk isht. We understand you have to protect your brand, but suing another artist? They must have some bad ninja blood if this petty isht can’t be solved with a phone call. According to Rolling Stone “I am disappointed that Will, a fellow artist, would file a case against me. I am someone who likes to talk things out and, in fact, I attempted to do just that on many occasions. I am surprised in how this is being handled and I am confident that Will’s trademark claims will ultimately be found to be as meritless and ridiculous as I do (Pharrell).” Do you think Will is being a drama queen or simply protecting his brand?
Kate Middleton is due to give birth to the royal heir(ess) in just a few weeks … which makes this celebrity gossip tabloid cover nothing short of amazing. Promising ALL THE DETAILS of the royal birth, Life & Style omits just one: Kate Middleton hasn’t actually delivered the royal baby yet. Despite this minor discrepancy, her family and security team have “rushed to the hospital,” while Prince William has been “torn” from his wife’s side. Life & Style has taken up writing some historical fiction, apparently. Isn’t the point of being a gossip magazine that you write just that? As in gossip people might actually believe, and that while difficult to prove, is equally challenging to disprove? Thus keeping the rumor mill churning? This is just a bizarre, blatant misstatement of commonly-known fact, not unlike if THG were to tell you these Kim Kardashian baby photos were real. THG NOTE: They’re not, but they’re hilarious.
Justin Bieber is facing a new lawsuit. But here’s the good news, Beliebers: it’s not from any new scandal! In his legal filing, Jose Osmin Hernandez Duran alleges that he was trying to snap pictures of Bieber and Selena Gomez last year in Calabasas when Justin jumped out of his Mercedes and “delivered a martial arts-type kick … in the lower rib cage on the left side of his abdomen.” From there, according to TMZ, the paparazzo says Bieber punched him in the face and pushed him against a parked vehicle. Gomez returned to the scene of the suppose crime a few moments later, grabbed her cell phone and apologized for her then-boyfriend. No word on what kind of damages Duran is seeking – but the suit actually brings up many of Justin’s past deeds, from speeding in his neighborhood to allegedly stealing the SIM card of another journalist.
