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Oct. 10, 2025, 4:15 PM EDTBy Minyvonne Burke and Samantha Cookinham“Real Housewives of Potomac” star Wendy Osefo and her husband, Eddie Osefo, were arrested Thursday in Maryland after being indicted by a grand jury for allegedly falsely reporting a home burglary and theft.Wendy Osefo, 41, faces 16 charges related to making false/misleading information fraud and making false statements to an officer, court records show. Her husband, 41, faces 18 charges for the same crimes. Attorney information was not listed. A spokesperson for the reality star said she and her husband are back home and in good spirits.“They are grateful for the outpouring of concern and support from friends, fans, and colleagues. The Osefos, alongside their legal team, look forward to their day in court,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, they respectfully ask for privacy as they focus on their family and the legal process ahead.”Deputies were called to the couple’s Finksburg home on April 7, 2024, for a report of a burglary and theft, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Friday. The Osefos allegedly told deputies that they had just returned from vacation to find that their home had been burglarized. The couple said that jewelry, luxury goods, clothing, and shoes totaling more than $200,000 were stolen, the release states.During an investigation, the sheriff’s office said that detectives found that Wendy Osefo and her husband had returned roughly $20,000 of the alleged stolen items to the stores where they purchased them. Detectives also found images of one of them wearing jewelry that had been reported stolen after the burglary took place, according to the news release. A search warrant was issued at the couple’s home, and they were taken into custody Thursday.They were released on Friday after posting bond. Wendy Osefo has appeared on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Potomac” since 2020. Her husband, who often appears on the show, is an attorney and founder of the cannabis brand, Happy Eddie.Bravo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The arrests come weeks after Wendy Osefo’s “Real Housewives of Potomac” co-star Karen Huger was released from prison after serving a one-year sentence for driving under the influence and other charges. Minyvonne BurkeMinyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.Samantha CookinhamSamantha Cookinham is an NBC News assignment editor.

- Latest News - October 10, 2025

“Real Housewives of Potomac” star Wendy Osefo and her husband, Eddie Osefo, were arrested Thursday in Maryland after being indicted by a grand jury for allegedly falsely reporting a home.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 10, 2025, 4:45 PM EDTBy Tim Stelloh and David KetterlingThe legal saga surrounding the killing of a California art dealer nearly 17 years ago finally came to a close this year, when two men convicted in an elaborate grift and murder plot were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.The case was derailed for years by allegations of bias — allegations that emerged after a judge was secretly recorded making derogatory comments about two defendants described by prosecutors as the con artists who orchestrated the plot to take Cliff Lambert’s money, identity and life.All six people charged in Lambert’s 2008 killing in Palm Springs, the desert city in California’s Coachella Valley, were either convicted or pleaded guilty more than a decade ago. But the secret recordings — which were made illegally by one of the defendants during his 2012 trial — prompted a series of overturned convictions and new trials for four of the accused. For more on the case, tune in to “The Prince, The Whiz Kid & The Millionaire” on “Dateline” at 9 ET/8 ET tonight. DATELINE SNEAK PEEK: The Prince, The Whiz Kid & The Millionaire01:59One of those defendants was fatally assaulted awaiting retrial. The three others were convicted again after a new round of trials that ended two years ago. All are appealing their convictions.Even after those verdicts, sentencing for two of the defendants stalled for months — and in one case, more than two years — amid claims of ineffective lawyering and health problems. In April and July, Daniel Garcia, 43, and David Replogle, 76, finally received their punishment.“I should be happier than I am, but I am just so frustrated,” the prosecutor who handled the first set of trials said after Garcia’s sentencing. “I am so angry that it took this long.”The murderLambert, 74, was killed at his home on Dec. 5, 2008, during what he believed was a meeting with a lawyer acting on behalf of a deceased art collector, an appeals decision in the case shows.Cliff Lambert.Courtesy Tom FitzmauriceAccording to former Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Rob Hightower, the man posing as a lawyer was actually Kaushal Niroula — a San Francisco grifter who previously claimed to be an exiled prince from Nepal who was one of the architects of the plan to defraud and murder Lambert.During one of the trials, Hightower said the other architect was Daniel Garcia, described by a onetime close friend as knowledgeable, charming and well-traveled — someone who could enamor everyone he met.Garcia had also captured media attention in San Francisco a few years earlier when he sued a prominent local financier, Thomas White, over allegations of sexual abuse. White, who died in 2013, settled with Garcia and a second plaintiff for roughly $500,000 but said the claims were false, court filings show.DATELINE EXCLUSIVE: Tyson Wrensch says detectives dismissed his fraud allegations before Cliff Lambert’s murder01:23According to the former friend, Tyson Wrensch, Garcia and Niroula would show up at bars in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood and shower patrons with free drinks.“Everyone knew that the prince was at the bar,” he said. “Everything was over the top.”Hightower described Garcia as the link to Lambert, who met Garcia through an online dating site in the spring of 2008 and flew him to Palm Springs.Daniel Garcia at his second trial.DatelineDuring the meeting with Lambert, Niroula secretly let in two accomplices who fatally stabbed the art dealer and buried him in a shallow grave north of Los Angeles, Hightower said. Two other accomplices, including Replogle, a San Francisco lawyer who’d represented Garcia in the sex abuse suit, also participated in the plot, Hightower said.After the killing, the group fabricated powers of attorney in Lambert’s name, drained hundreds of thousands of dollars from his bank account and tried to sell his home, Hightower said.Within months, all six had been arrested in connection with the killing. Four of them, including Garcia, Niroula and Replogle, were charged with murder, conspiracy, grand theft and other crimes. The four pleaded not guilty and were convicted of murder at separate trials in 2011 and 2012. They were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.A fifth suspect confessed, cooperated with authorities and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. A sixth suspect pleaded guilty to fraud.Convictions overturnedIn 2016, Niroula filed a petition seeking a new trial that accused the judge who oversaw the case of bias. The petition included a series of bombshell claims: In off-the-record comments, Riverside County Superior Court Judge David Downing was recorded on Garcia’s courtroom laptop talking with his clerk about Niroula’s HIV-positive status.Kaushal Niroula.Courtesy Mark EvansAccording to the petition, when the clerk said the defendant “likes licking envelopes,” Downing responded: “Ewww lord knows where his tongue has been and for that very reason I don’t like to touch or read anything he gives me and I deny everything as I don’t read it. It’s a tough world folks.”The petition notes another comment in which Downing used an expletive to describe the defendants and said they “can file anything they want, but I won’t grant any important motions.”During a private meeting, Garcia confronted Downing about the recordings, according to the appeals decision. Downing responded that he was protected by the First Amendment and treated everyone in the case appropriately, the decision shows.Downing, whose law license has been listed as inactive since 2013, hasn’t commented publicly on the case or responded to messages left at a phone number listed under his name.DATELINE EXCLUSIVE: Prosecutor Lisa DiMaria says investigation into murder of Cliff Lambert was ‘like Alice in Wonderland, falling into a rabbit hole01:20In 2020, after the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said it didn’t oppose new trials for the four defendants who denied the murder charges, a judge overturned the convictions and ordered the cases to be retried.“I felt probably the way Lambert did when he had the knife shoved into his back,” Lisa DiMaria, the Riverside County prosecutor who tried the case, told “Dateline.” “All of those years that I dedicated to getting justice for Lambert out the window. One of the most upsetting days of my life, the absolute most upsetting day of my career.”A jailhouse death and more convictionsOn Aug. 11, 2022, the first of the defendants to be retried — Replogle — was convicted of all charges. Weeks later, while awaiting retrial, another inmate killed Niroula at the Riverside County jail, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Niroula’s family. Defendant and former San Francisco Bay Area lawyer David Replogle.DatelineThe suit, filed in federal court, accuses the county sheriff’s office of failing to protect Niroula, 41, from harm.According to the suit, Niroula identified as a transgender woman at the time and was beaten and strangled to death by a person described in the complaint as a violent predator who “posed an immediate threat of violence and harm to all other inmates in his immediate vicinity and especially inmates like Kaushal Niroula.”The sheriff’s office has denied the allegations, which are set for trial in February.In 2023, two more convictions followed. But only one of the defendants — a former San Francisco bartender whom prosecutors said Niroula let into Lambert’s house — was sentenced. That November, he was ordered to serve life without the possibility of parole. Sentencing for Replogle and Garcia was delayed for months, however. In a court filing, Garcia said he hadn’t been provided with accommodations compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Garcia has a rare genetic disorder that causes extreme sensitivity to sunlight, the filing says.Garcia and Replogle also raised issues about their legal representation. At one point last October, as Replogle sought to have a newly appointed attorney thrown off the case, the judge denied the request and said, “There’s going to be no more playing games.”Finally sentenced — againSix months later, on April 25, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos denied a motion from Garcia seeking a new trial and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. In July, Villalobos denied a request from Replogle for a new trial and sentenced him to the same punishment.After Garcia’s hearing, DiMaria, the prosecutor, acknowledged the frustration that she felt after having watched the case drag on for years. She described Downing’s comments as “flippant” and said the reversal had nothing to do with the quality of the evidence prosecutors assembled.“There was never a question about innocence,” she said. “There was never a question about whether or not he did it.”“The most aggravating part is that he conned and manipulated the system, just like he did with his victims,” DiMaria said of Garcia. “The criminal justice system was played just like all of the victims were.”Garcia continues to maintain his innocence. In an interview with “Dateline,” he denied playing a role in the killing and blamed Niroula and the other defendants for the murder.Tim StellohTim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.David KetterlingDavid Ketterling is a producer for “Dateline.” 

- Latest News - October 10, 2025

The legal saga surrounding the killing of a California art dealer nearly 17 years ago finally came to a close this year, when two men convicted in an elaborate grift.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleOct. 10, 2025, 1:31 PM EDTBy Rebecca CohenTaylor Swift told “Late Night” host Seth Meyers on Wednesday night that the release week for her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” has been her favorite so far. The album’s immediate and staggering success could be a contributing factor. Swift wrapped up a massive media blitz for “Showgirl,” which was released on Oct. 3. Already, the album has racked up historic streaming numbers, and a huge amount of album variants have been sold.Here’s a look at how “Showgirl” has exploded in its first week. ‘TLOAS’ comes in second for first-week streams this yearSwift has claimed the second-best streaming week of the year, with more than 460 million on-demand official streams in the U.S., according to a Thursday report from Billboard, which tracks sales, streaming and airplay data for its charts. The outlet cited initial reports from data tracking firm Luminate in its report. The streaming data for “Showgirl” pulls together multiple versions of the album, including the standard edition, which features 12 songs, and two other track-by-track versions that include commentary from Swift and lyric videos for all of the tracks. Taylor Swift talks with host Seth Meyers on Oct. 8.Lloyd Bishop / NBCSwift’s’ numbers fell behind only Morgan Wallen, whose album “I’m the Problem” earned 462.63 million streams during its May release week, according to Billboard’s count. The music-tracking outlet noted Swift’s major release week easily falls among the top 10 all-time biggest streaming weeks for any album. Swift herself holds the record for largest streaming week ever with “Tortured Poets Department,” which saw 891.37 million streams in its opening week last year, Billboard reported. “TLOAS” also broke a single-day streaming record on Spotify, achieving the title in only 11 hours, according to the streaming platform. The album saw 6 million pre-saves — beating “TTPD,” which previously held the record. Swift expected to break longstanding sales recordSwift is poised to break the longstanding record for the largest sales week for an album in the modern era, which is currently held by Adele’s “25.” The British singer’s album sold 3.378 million copies during its release week in 2015, Billboard reported. “Showgirl” sales have likely been boosted by a host of exclusive editions of the album released on iTunes this week that were available for only 24 hours each. Swift also released a wide range of exclusive CDs and vinyls that contributed to its massive sales. According to Billboard’s count, she has put out a whopping 32 different versions of “Showgirl,” including 18 CDs, eight vinyls, one cassette and five downloadable variants. Swift’s exact sales numbers will be released on Sunday, Billboard said. “Showgirl” will also debut on the Billboard 200 chart the same day. ‘The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’In conjunction with the release of “The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift released an 89-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album that only played in theaters from Oct. 3 to Oct. 5. The movie featured the premier of the music video for lead single “The Fate of Ophelia,” a look at the making of the video, Swift’s explanations of each song, and lyric videos that went track by track. Taylor Swift fans dance during a listening event for Swift’s new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ at the Astor Theatre in Melbourne on Oct. 3.William West / AFP – Getty ImagesUnsurprisingly, the movie dominated the box office, pulling in more than $50 million globally, taking over the weekend and beating out traditional blockbusters, according to AMC Theatres. Swift’s “Showgirl” movie event achieved such success even when there was barely any promotion — there was no trailer, no Thursday preview showtimes, and that was after she announced its release only two weeks before it hit theaters. Late night around the globe Swift has spent the last week on what appears to be her most comprehensive media tour in years. In addition to a handful of appearances on radio shows in the U.K., Swift kicked off release week across the pond on “The Graham Norton Show.” She traveled back to the States in time to make it on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday and, followed that up with a second trip to 30 Rock and a feature on “Late Night” with Meyers on Wednesday. Swift and Fallon talked engagement rings, masters recordings and rumors that Swift turned down the Super Bowl Halftime Show because the NFL wouldn’t allow her to own the concert footage (not true, said Swift). She also explained the meaning behind most of the 12 tracks and praised her Eras Tour dancers for their work on the “Ophelia” music video. While joking with Meyers, Swift revealed her fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, made a massive mix-up at one of her Eras Tour shows. The media tour appears to be over for now, but Swifties are hoping for a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” when Sabrina Carpenter hosts on Oct. 18. Rebecca CohenRebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

- Latest News - October 10, 2025

Taylor Swift told “Late Night” host Seth Meyers on Wednesday night that the release week for her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” has been her favorite so far.

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