NEW YORK (TCN) — Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested by federal agents Tuesday morning in Manhattan on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, for allegedly abusing women and forcing them to engage in sex acts starting in 2008.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Sept. 17 that Combs has been indicted on racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Both racketeering and sex trafficking by force carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
CNN reports a judge denied Combs bail at his court hearing on Tuesday, but his attorneys are going to appeal the decision. Prosecutors argued Combs should be held without bail because they believe he is a flight risk, but his attorneys are fighting to have him on house arrest with a bond secured by his home in Miami. He has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment against Combs comes almost one year after his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, who is known by the stage name Cassie, sued him and his company in federal court for allegedly raping her over the course of a decade. The two settled the case one day after she filed it.
According to Combs’ recently unsealed indictment, federal officials allege starting in 2009, Combs, whose performance names include Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, PD, and Love, “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” Combs allegedly used his “multifaceted business empire” to create a “criminal enterprise” that involved trafficking, arson, bribery, forced labor, obstruction of justice, and kidnapping.
The indictment alleges Combs physically, verbally, sexually, and emotionally abused women, and forced them to participate in “highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers,” known as “Freak Offs.” Combs purportedly directed the “elaborate and produced sex performances” and often recorded them. The Freak Offs could last several days and allegedly were a regular occurrence. Combs allegedly provided drugs to the victims in the Freak Offs “in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant.” After the Freak Offs, Combs reportedly gave the victims IV fluids as part of their recovery.
Combs’ associates and employees allegedly assisted Combs by reserving hotel rooms for the Freak Offs, supplying drugs, lubricant, baby oil, sheets, and lighting, as well as arranging travel for the sex workers, victims, and Combs to the location. The indictment says officials seized “various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” during a March search of his homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
According to the indictment, Combs allegedly “maintained control” of the victims during the Freak Offs by promising career advancement and threatening them. Sometimes, Combs reportedly kicked and abused victims, causing injuries that took a long time to heal. In addition, he allegedly “used the sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings that he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victim.”
Combs’ associates reportedly carried firearms and also complied with his directions of “regarding financial payments to victims, advancing or suppressing the victims’ career opportunities, and acquiring the controlled substances Combs used to keep the victims compliant.” Employees or witnesses who called Combs out on the alleged abuse were reportedly threatened. Officials reportedly seized multiple AR-15 rifles with scratched serial numbers and other firearms from his home.
In late 2023, when lawsuits and allegations started coming out against him, Combs and his associates reportedly “pressured witnesses and victims, including through attempted bribery, to stay silent and not report what they experienced or knew to law enforcement.”
Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo told CNN, “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office.” Agnifilo said Combs has “nothing to hide” and described him as 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.”
Agnifilo said, “He is an imperfect person but is not a criminal.”
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge William Walker said in the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement, “Today, we shatter any false notion of impunity as we uncover the defendant’s alleged pattern of manipulation, exploitation, and outright abuse. Make no mistake: We are here today only because of the unwavering strength of victims and witnesses who have already endured unspeakable hardships.”