Derrick Salters/WENN.com

If this is true, Dame Dash is drowning in debt right now.

In a report by The New York Daily News, Dash filed papers on Tuesday saying is so deep in debt that he cannot pay his personal bills, which includes his rent in a Carmel, NY mansion where he is currently behind in rent by $100,000.

Over the past few years, Dash has lost two New York City lofts to foreclosure, his vehicle has been seized, he owes $2 million dollars in New York State taxes, an undisclosed amount in federal taxes and he says he’s facing criminal charges for non-payment of New Jersey state taxes.

Wow.

On Thursday, Dame went to court to ask the judge not to garnish his wages (whatever they are). He says that at this time, his money goes to the following (your mouth will drop):

- He pays $24,000 every three months to his ex-wife, fashion designer Rachel Roy, for child support of their two kids, and to cover money owed on the lofts.

- New York state forces Dash to send another $4,341.10 per month for support of his son, Christian.

- He paid nearly $20,000 in garnished wages in late 2012 for other debts.

- And he faces a pending $40,000 tax payment for business earnings.

Dash says in paying for all that, he is barely keeping his business afloat let alone able to pay his personal bills.

Well, we can see how that could be the case.

Dame sent a message through his attorney saying:

“I’m an independent businessman and this is what comes from business.  I have the guts to fight my battles on my own and it’s entertainment to everybody else because I’m so cool about it.”

How “cool” can you really be when you’re obviously still spending beyond your means and barely have a place to lay your head?

It sounds like someone needs to put their pride to the side and get himself together.

Getty

Well, since it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers season will soon be over (don’t come for me Lakers fans, you have to accept it), Steve Nash can now focus on a bigger fight.

A year and a half ago, Nash announced that he and his wife Alejandra would be divorcing.  In the months since, the breakup has been fairly ugly with allegations of infidelity being thrown from both sides as well as rumors that Nash didn’t want to pay child support for their three children. They’ve been locked in a child support battle for months!  Well, an Arizona judge ruled that Nash didn’t have to pay the support because his lawyers were able to prove that his ex has become a millionaire in her own right because of him and still pulls in $30,000 a month.

Further, Nash apparently pays for 90 percent of his children’s medical, schooling and extracurricular activities as well as 82 percent of the nanny’s salary.  Alejandra contends, however, that none of that should matter because he still makes a million more dollars than she does every month.

For his part, Nash says that he believes if he’s made to pay child support, Alejandra will use the money to continue funding her own lifestyle as well as spoiling the kids with lavish and unnecessary gifts.

Isn’t this ugly? Oh and did I forget to mention that Nash is trying to bar Alejandra from moving to Los Angeles so the kids can be closer to their dad because California courts are known for harsh child support rulings and he’d likely be made to pay if they move there.

Sadly, his oldest children, a set of twin girls, are eight and likely old enough to realize that their parents really aren’t getting along at all.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the fighting will die down since they’re still in court.

Based on the information, who do you think is wrong, Steve or Alejandra?

AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus

It was just yesterday that news broke of the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, the 30-year-old girlfriend of South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius. But today, Pistorius has already had to stand in front of the judge, and while he broke down after being charged with murder, he’s going to have more to be upset about with prosecutors currently working to charge him with premeditated murder.

In Pretoria Magistrates Court, Pistorius was seen balling as his charges were delivered, and his father, standing behind the defense table, sought to comfort him. According to CBS News, prosecutors want to make the case that Pistorius had planned to kill Steenkamp, going against rumors that the track star confused his girlfriend for an intruder. Steenkamp was shot four times in all according to the Business Insider, once in the head, once in the pelvis, once in the hand, and one more time in the chest. And according to police, they had been called to Pistorius’ house in the past for “domestic incidents,” and that neighbors allegedly heard things earlier before the shooting. All things that authorities say they are going to take into consideration in the investigation.

According to CBS News, the mother of an ex-girlfriend of Pistorius’ took to Facebook to let the world know that the track star is far from a figure to be sorry for right now. Trish Taylor wrote, “I’m so glad Sammy is safe and out of the clutches of that man.” But on the other hand, another ex-girlfriend, Jenna Edkins, says via Twitter that the athlete is being judged too harshly too soon:

“All I am saying is let him speak, let his side be heard without jumping to conclusions.”

“I have dated Oscar on and off for 5 YEARS, NOT ONCE has he EVER lifted a finger to me or made me fear for my life.”

But while people that claim to know him are trashing and defending his name online, those that know him best, his family, are by his side. Pistorius and his family are against the charges, and released a statement earlier today thanking those who have shown support to him since yesterday’s shooting, and re-emphasized the importance of remembering Steenkamp during this time. “He would also like to express his thanks through us today for all the messages of support he has received — but as stated our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family — regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy.”

Pistorius will go back to court next Tuesday and Wednesday, and according to CNN, will be held at a police station in the meantime as bail has not been granted, and authorities oppose the idea of him being released at all.

Source: WENN

Pilar and Deion’s divorce drama may be coming to a close soon. Yesterday morning, Pilar’s attempt at proving she was tricked into signing a prenuptial agreement and that the contract was forged and fake pages were added failed completely –but not before her attorney’s gave their effort a good go.

Pilar Sanders’ attorney said not only was the agreement a fraud, the whole marriage was a sham, Dallas/Fort Worth station WFAA said:

“She was tricked and defrauded at the time she signed agreement,” said attorney Larry Friedman. “Deion never intended this to be a lifetime commitment.”

Mrs. Sanders’ original attorney, who worked on the pre-nuptial agreement, said Pilar got a $100,000 signing bonus to sign the document.

Deion’s attorney Rick Robertson said, “If the marriage was a fraud, then annul it and give back the money. Give back the $100,000 signing bonus.”

Deion Sanders said his wife knew what she was doing, and is trying to squeeze more money out of him.

“Greed, greed!” Mr. Sanders said. “You signed it and now it’s over and your lifestyle is over, so you want to fight it. Greed.”

The judge, who has heard similar arguments twice before, said Pilar Sanders willingly signed agreement, there was no fraud and told her attorneys not to bring the issues to his court again.

Can you say checked? Both Pilar and Deion have been going overboard trying to pull the sympathy card but I have to say Deion’s lawyers were on top of their game with that whole, ”If the marriage was a fraud, then annul it and give back the money,” line. The former NFL pro could hardly contain his excitement on Twitter, tweeting:

“Boy i wanted to get up and do my dance today in court! I always told you a lie has No endurance and the Truth will win in the end! Yes Lawd”

Pilar’s lifestyle might be over for real.

Source: WENN

Breezy got a big break in court yesterday, thanks to the man upstairs, by way of a few prayers from Rihanna. Though the domestic altercation between Chris and Rih Rih happened three years ago, his legal dealings are still nowhere near over, but his ex-girlfriend still has his back and it appears to be helping. As TMZ recounts the situation:

Chris was just in court for a probation progress report hearing in his felony battery of Rihanna — and according to probation report docs … Brown failed a drug test on June 18 in Virginia, where he was fulfilling his court ordered community service.

According to probation report, Chris told his probation officer he had smoked weed in California — where he has a medical marijuana prescription — and then failed the test in Virginia, where weed is illegal … prescription or no prescription.

Judge Patricia Schnegg said she never ordered Brown to undergo mandatory drug testing as part of his probation, so she cut him a break … this time … letting him off with a stern reminder to obey all laws.

Not bad. Or perhaps I should say well done, which is likely the reaction Rihanna had to the news. Before Chris’s court appearance, she sent out some very reassuring – and rather public – messages of support:

Poor Karrueche.

Chris isn’t totally off the hook just yet. According  to TMZ, Judge Schnegg ordered Brown to meet with his probation officer within 72 hours to sort out a discrepancy in community service hours, but that’s a small hurdle compared to the one he just surpassed. I’m sure he can expect more encouragement from Rihanna in those dealings too.

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Source: nydailynews.com

First and foremost, who knew that Dennis Rodman was 51???

But to the matter at hand. The former NBA star known for his colorful hair, multiple piercings, tattoos and sexual exploits, and oh yeah, his killer rebounding skills, was sentenced yesterday after being found guilty of four counts of contempt for failing to come up with his owed child support in 2009 and 2010. Rodman was hit with 104 hours of community service, along with three years of informal probation on the condition that he keep up with both spousal and child support payments to his ex-wife, Michelle Moyer. He has a son named D.J., 11, and a daughter named Trinity, 10, from his relationship with her. The couple married in 2003, but she filed for divorce in 2004. However, they tried to reconcile time and time again, but in the end, she filed for divorce again, and the marriage was put to an end this year.

Though Rodman’s ex-wife says he owes more than $800,000 in back child support, his lawyer, Linnea Willis, disputes the number (she says it’s much less of course) and says that Rodman isn’t and hasn’t been making enough money to pay up. According to the AP, she says the colorful NBA legend is broke, owing thousands in back taxes. On top of that, his troubles with alcohol and more had made it hard for him to get a job or endorsements to bring in more money, hence the struggle to pay spousal and child support payments recently. But now Rodman says that thanks to a few opportunities to play ball overseas (he’s 51 mind you…if you forgot), he’s doing okay, but not making the same dough he used to. “I’m making enough to keep everyone satisfied.” Rodman will have to report back to court on June 22 about more disputes over child support and additional contempt charges. While he is willing to do what’s necessary to do right by his children, Rodman made it clear that he was disappointed that things had to get so messy:

“It’s all about the kids. It does suck the fact that it had to come to this.”

It happens, brother. Just do better.

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Source:ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com

Tameka and Usher Raymond’s custody trial is just getting off to a start, and it’s not such a good one for Tameka. Usher’s attorney wasted no time suggesting the singer’s ex-wife may not be the best mother in the world by exposing angry threats she reportedly made to Usher and his girlfriend some time back.

After a few stumbles and denial of ever saying, “I will kill you both,” Tameka ended up admitting, “I did probably, out of anger, say ‘I will f*** you up.” Though Tameka said her threat wasn’t acceptable she didn’t say it was without merit. She claimed the statement was made while Usher had been parading around town with his new girlfriend in their tight knit community and she said his behavior embarrassed her. I’m guessing this girlfriend is Usher’s latest boo Grace Miguel, who at 42 proves Usher has a serious thing for older ladies. He popped on the scene with her about the same time he filed for divorce from Tameka in 2009 so I’m sure his new relationship stung pretty badly— although he claimed he ad Tameka been living separately for nearly a year at that point.

There are always two sides to a story though, and so far we’ve only gotten one. Proceedings are continuing soon so there’s no telling what dirt Tameka might pull out on Usher this week. We have a filling this won’t be resolved quickly. Check out this clip from the trial here.

Do you think Tameka’s threat will be damaging to her custody case?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Americo Lopes - Source: nj.com

If you were looking for a reason why you might want to avoid getting caught up in an office lottery pool, this situation might just give you 38 million reasons why.

While working as construction workers in New Jersey, Americo Lopes and five of his cohorts (Candido Silva Sr., Jose Sousa, Daniel Esteves, Carlos Fernandes, and Candido Silva Jr.) used to pool their money together for years in order to have a better chance at winning the lottery. They didn’t have the luck like most people, but in 2009, after sending Lopes with money to buy Mega Millions tickets, they all won! Unfortunately for the five men, Lopes didn’t let them know. That’s right folks, Americo Lopes took the winning lottery ticket, cashed it in, and after deducting taxes, he walked away with more than $17 million. Dirty, much?

Thinking he was very slick, according to the New York Times, Lopes collected the winnings and told his job that because of foot surgery, he needed to quit doing construction. But if The Wire has taught us anything, it’s that word on the street spreads fast. One of the men in the pool found out Lopes won, but he lied and told the men he won after quitting. However, a quick search online found that the man was a winner while still working with his friends, and the five brothas in the pool out millions were being played like losers. So the smart thing to do, which they did, was take him to court. During the proceedings, the men seemed more hurt than angry, because they looked at Lopes as a good friend, while one, Candido Silva, Sr. looked at him like a son. According to the New York Times, he broke down on the stand at the act of alleged betrayal.

Lack of written evidence had Lopes’s lawyers questioning if the men were lying, and the “winner” stuck to the story that he bought a ticket separate from the pool that helped him strike it rich. But in the end, the Union County jury believed the five men and said Lopes would have to share the winnings. A huge chunk of taxes was taken out of the winnings (obviously, 17 million and 38 million = a big difference), and since the lawsuit started, a freeze was put on the money. Therefore, the tax situation has to be dealt with before all of the men can get…how do you say…broke off. But while watching the TV last night, local news outlets were claiming each man might be able to walk away with around $4 million each. Not bad!

When the verdict came in yesterday, Lopes was overheard saying in Portuguese, “They robbed me.” Nice try Mr. Lopes, but it sounds like it’s the other way around…

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It’s no secret Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry are having a difficult time co-parenting their 3-year-old daughter, Nahla, but Halle has taken a page straight out of the bitter baby mama handbook with new paperwork she’s filed.

According to TMZ, Halle is asking the court for permission to move to France with Nahla, and of course Gabriel is not having it. Her ex-man says he feels the move is punitive and is only being done to stop him from having any contact with his daughter, plus he isn’t thrilled with the fact that Halle will be living with her French boo Olivier Martinez.

While I’m sure that’s part of Halle’s motivation to move, you can’t help but see this as a ploy to keep Nahla away from Gabriel, especially pending the outcome of child endangerment accusations. But with speculation that those allegations were made up, plus this plan to move abroad, it seems like Halle wants to pretend like Gabriel isn’t her child’s father at all.  As tempting as it may be, you should never use your child as a pawn to get back at an old lover.

What do you think about Halle’s sudden wish to move to France? Do you think the judge should grant her permission?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Deion Sanders might want to consider the phrase “it’s cheaper to keep her” because the cost to his reputation, and soon his pockets, for divorcing Pilar just might not be worth it.

Pilar is back in the courtroom, and this time she filed an emergency motion claiming that her assumed soon-to-be ex-husband is holding her as a “financial hostage.” Deion has supposedly cut off all of her income, but he is willing to share his wealth in exchange for favors in the bedroom. In the documents, she claims:

“Since [Deion] filed for divorce on December 21, 2011, he has given [Pilar] $300.00 and offered her money in exchange for sexual favors.”

She then notes, “Pilar turned down the money.”

With no other source of money, Pilar says:

“The children and I have lived in survival mode for several months, and the emotional toll on all of us is palpable.”

For Deion, it seems Pilar can’t get out of their home fast enough. According to her, he’s cancelled her cell phone and “engaged in a pattern of systematically removing my belongings from the house and haphazardly throwing them into piles in the garage of the residence.”

Considering how this whole divorce has played out in the media I’m not surprised. As for her current claims,”survival mode” seems a bit dramatic. I think Pilar just wants a cut of the $1 million a year she claims Deioin still earns.

What do you think about Pilar’s sexual favor accusations? Bogus or you wouldn’t put it past Deion?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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