New York, Sept. 17 –
Music legend Sean “Diddy” Combs has been charged with three federal counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation for the purpose of engaging in prostitution, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Combs, 54, was arrested by federal agents in Manhattan on Monday night, a year after he was accused of multiple allegations of physical and sexual abuse that derailed his career.
Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said he was disappointed by the decision to pursue an “unfair prosecution” against the rapper and producer.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, loving his children and working to uplift the Black community,” Agnifilo said Monday night. “He’s an imperfect man, but he’s not a criminal.”
Agnifilo said Combs voluntarily moved to New York amid fears of charges.
Combs, also known as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, was a major figure in hip-hop in the 1990s and 2000s. He founded the label Bad Boy Records, and is credited with helping make stars of rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher.
His reputation came under fire in November last year when his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, the R&B singer known as Cassie, accused him of persistent physical abuse, sexual slavery and rape during their decade-long relationship. She agreed to an undisclosed settlement a day after filing the suit, while Combs denied her allegations.
The number of cases increased
Legal pressure mounted on him and he faced multiple civil lawsuits by women and men accusing him of sexual assault and other misconduct. His lawyers are fighting those cases in court. Federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, six months ago.
Former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richards last week accused Combs of sexual assault, assault, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and fraud.
A Michigan judge this month ordered Combs to pay $100 million to Derrick Lee Smith, who said Combs drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party nearly 30 years ago, because Combs did not appear in court to defend himself. A lawyer for Combs said he would try to have that ruling thrown out.
Combs has also dismissed claims in a sex trafficking lawsuit made in February by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, whom Combs employed as a producer on his 2023 release “The Love Album: Off the Grid.”
The indictment is not Combs’ first brush with the law. In March 2001, he was acquitted of bribery and weapons charges in a criminal trial linked to a shooting at a nightclub that left three people injured.
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