Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Charged with Sex Trafficking, Extortion – Andscape

NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, he was charged with federal sex trafficking and extortion charges that he committed violence against women and ran a suspected sex crimes empire for greater than a decade.

According to the indictment unsealed Tuesday, the music mogul “engaged in persistent and widespread abuse of women and others.”

The indictment details allegations dating back to 2008 that he abused, threatened and coerced women for years to “fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior.” He is accused of enticing female victims and sex staff into drugged-up, sometimes multi-day sexual performances, which the indictment calls “Freak Offs.” The indictment also not directly alleges an attack on his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassiewhat was recorded on video.

The combs were arrested on Monday evening in Manhattan, about six months after federal authorities investigated her for human trafficking they attacked his luxurious houses in Los Angeles and Miami. He was due in court Tuesday to face the costs.

Over the past 12 months, Combs he was sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied lots of those allegations, and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that Combs would plead not guilty and that he would “fight like hell” to attempt to get his client released from custody.

Agnifilo said of Combs, “He’s in good spirits. He’s confident.” Agnifilo told reporters as they headed to court that they knew this present day was coming.

The indictment describes Combs, 54, as the top of a criminal enterprise that engaged in or attempted to have interaction in activities that included human trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the needs of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice. He is accused of beating, punching and dragging women on multiple occasions, throwing objects and kicking them — and enlisting his personal assistants, security and household staff to assist him cover all of it up.

Combs and his associates used their “power and prestige” to “intimidate, threaten, and lure” women into their entourage, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship,” the indictment says. It goes on to say he used force, threats, and coercion to force women to have sex with men in “Freak Offs” — “elaborate and manufactured sexual performances” that Combs orchestrated, directed, masturbated during, and sometimes taped.

According to the indictment, he sometimes arranged for girls to travel and ensured their participation within the operation by obtaining and supplying them with drugs, controlling their careers, using his financial support and using intimidation and violence.

The events could last for days, and Combs and the victims were often given intravenous fluids “to recover from the physical exertion and drug use” through the “Freak Offs,” the indictment said. His employees were said to facilitate the “Freak Offs” by arranging travel, booking the hotel rooms where the events would happen and stocking those rooms with supplies, including medicine, baby oil, lubricants, extra bedding and lighting, scheduling the delivery of intravenous fluids, after which cleansing the rooms.

During searches of Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles this 12 months, law enforcement seized drugs and greater than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, in response to the indictment. Agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers, the indictment said.

She claims that Combs, unaware of his victims, sometimes kept videos of girls having sex and used them as “collateral” to make sure the women’s continued obedience and silence. He also exerted control over his victims by promising them profession opportunities, providing and threatening to withhold financial support, dictating what they looked like, monitoring their medical records and controlling where they lived, in response to the indictment.

The indictment alleges that, under the specter of criminal charges, Combs and his associates pressured witnesses and victims to stay silent, attempting to bribe them and present a false version of events.

All this, prosecutors say, happened behind the facade of Combs’ global music, lifestyle and clothing empire.

Combs was considered one of the vital influential figures in hip-hop until a wave of accusations over the past 12 months made him an industry outcast.

In November 2023, Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he beat and raped her for yearsShe accused Combs of forcing her and others into unwanted sex in settings where drugs were prevalent.

The suit was I settled in at some pointbut a number of months later, CNN aired a hotel surveillance video showing Combs punching and kicking Ventura and throwing it on the ground. After the film was broadcast, Combs apologizedsaying, “I was disgusted when I did it.”

The indictment mentions the attack but doesn’t name Ventura. It also says Combs tried to bribe a hotel security guard to maintain quiet about it.

Combs and his lawyers have denied similar accusations made by others in a series of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, Ventura’s attorney, said in an announcement Tuesday that “neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”

“We appreciate your understanding and if anything changes, we will be sure to let you know,” he added.

The woman said Combs raped her 20 years ago, when she was 17. The music producer sued Combs, claiming he forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, She said Combs subjected her to “horrific sexual intercourse” starting when she was a student in 1994.

The AP typically doesn’t release the names of people that say they’ve been sexually harassed unless they admit it publicly, as Ventura and Lampros did.

Combs, the founding father of Bad Boy Records, has avoided legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protégé, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.