United States of America v. Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Federal authorities arrested the mogul in Midtown Manhattan on Monday evening and unsealed the grand indictment on Tuesday morning (September 17). Diddy was originally scheduled to be arrested on Tuesday, but federal agents raided his Midtown hotel a day early to carry out the arrest.
According to the unsealed 14-page indictment, the 54-year-old entertainer is being charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. The document claims Combs hit and abused women for over a decade and presided over a sordid empire of sexual crimes. Read the full indictment here.
It is said in the documents that Diddy was the leader of a criminal organization that engaged in or attempted to engage in activities such as sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.
Throughout the past decade, he has abused, threatened, and coerced women “to fulfill his sexual desires, safeguard his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” according to the indictment dated to 2008. The indictment accuses him of inducing female victims and male sex workers to engage in drugged-up, sometimes days-long sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs.”
In April, Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, reportedly cooperated with federal investigators regarding a probe into the mogul’s allegations. Diddy and Cassie settled their lawsuit in 2023 for an undisclosed sum.
As early as Monday morning, Diddy was spotted taking photos with fans in Washington Square Park with his son Christian Combs, otherwise known as King Combs. No word if Diddy will be released on bond following the arrest.
Combs attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told TMZ, “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 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, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.”
He continued: “He is an imperfect person but is not criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
TMZ reported on Tuesday that Christian and Justin Combs were in lower Manhattan, outside Federal court, awaiting their father’s appearance before a judge.
More as this story develops.