According to a federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. The embattled hip-hop mogul was arrested on Monday, September 16, in Manhattan.
The “Bad Boy for Life” was taken into custody nearly six months after federal agents raided his Los Angeles and Miami mansions in connection with sex crime accusations levelled against him in numerous lawsuits. (Also read: Diddy threatened to ‘cut’ a ‘Big 3’ rapper’s throat when he defended Kendrick Lamar in infamous fight, recalls TDE Punch)
What are the prosecutors fighting against?
According to the three-count indictment released on Tuesday, prosecutors allege Combs “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern” of physical, verbal, emotional and sexual abuse “toward women and other individuals.”
Per CNN’s report, the indictment also states that the rapper, in several incidents from 2009 onwards, “assaulted women by, among other things, striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them.”
The complaint further pushes that Diddy’s businesses are also complicit in the alleged instances of misconduct as they attempted to engage in “sex trafficking, forced labour, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offences, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.” Prosecutors believe the Revolt founder succeeded in securing “absolute loyalty” from people affiliated with his businesses through “acts of violence and threats.”
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Diddy’s business empire ostensibly avoided being detected for illegal involvements through “acts of intimidation, manipulation, bribery, and threats of retaliation against individuals who witnessed the crimes committed by members and associates of the enterprise.”
Despite being the subject of several lawsuits accusing him of sexually and physically assaulting people, the Bad Boy Records founder has constantly denied the allegations. He unloaded an identical narrative in his suit against his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who similarly accused her ex-partner of a decadelong pattern of accuse that purportedly began when she was 19 years old.
Although he quickly settled the lawsuit filed by her in November 2023, he was compelled to take a U-turn earlier this year when CNN exposed an old footage from 2016, capturing Combs savagely beating and dragging Cassie in a now-closed hotel lobby. Puff Daddy subsequently released an “apology” video on Instagram, which never once mentioned his then-girlfriend.
Diddy to plead not guilty after arrest
The disgraced rapper and his attorney have repeatedly denied major allegations against him. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, maintained the same stance on Tuesday morning, telling the media outside the courthouse that his client would plead not guilty while he “fight(s) like hell” to get his client released.
Sean Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie’s lawyer releases a statement
As of Tuesday, Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ventura, released a statement saying that his client and he don’t have any comment on Diddy’s arrest. “We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know,” he concluded, per The Guardian.
In addition to allegations related to his alleged sexual encounters, Diddy is also linked to the infamous 1999 Manhattan nightclub shooting (which had Jennifer Lopez in attendance). However, two years later, he was acquitted of the charges related to the case. Rapper-turned-politician Shyne, an artist under Combs’ wing at the time, later referred to himself as Diddy’s “Fall Guy” as he was convicted of assault and other charges.
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