Sex Trafficking and Organized Crime: The Charges Against Sean “Diddy” Combs | Crime News

A New York judge has denied bail to American rapper and record producer Sean “Diddy” Combs after he was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday on suspicion of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit organized crime and interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution.

On Tuesday, he was ordered to remain in jail while awaiting trial.

Damian Williams, attorney for the Southern District of New York, explained the charges at a press conference: “Combs abused, threatened and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior.”

In an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo insisted that Combs was cooperating fully with authorities. “Mr. Combs came to New York on September 5th when we realized these charges were going to be filed,” he said.

On Monday, a statement from Combs and his attorney said: “Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, a self-made entrepreneur, a loving family man and a proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and advocating for the advancement of the black community.”

In March, Combs' properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by the Department of Homeland Security as part of an ongoing federal investigation focused primarily on sex trafficking allegations. The musician also faces multiple lawsuits over allegations of sexual harassment dating back to the 1990s.

Who is Sean “Diddy” Combs and how many times has he been sued or prosecuted in the past?

Who is Sean “Diddy” Combs?

Sean Combs, an American rapper and record producer from Harlem, New York City, has changed his name several times over the years.

He was known as “Puff Daddy” when he first rose to fame in the early 1990s, before changing his name to “P Diddy” in 2001. In 2005, he dropped the “P” and now just called himself “Diddy.”

Combs started as an intern at record production group Uptown Records in 1990 and quickly rose through the company's hierarchy, becoming talent director and later vice president of the record label. However, due to internal conflicts with Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell, Combs was fired in 1993.

That same year, Combs founded the record label Bad Boy Entertainment and signed hip-hop and R&B artists, including stars such as The Notorious BIG (Biggie Smalls), Faith Evans, 112, Craig Mack, The Lox and Mase. Other well-known artists he established included Mariah Carey and Mary J Blige.

Combs' first solo album, No Way Out, released in June 1997, featured the popular song “I'll Be Missing You.” It was dedicated to The Notorious BIG, who had died the previous month. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and received positive reviews, ultimately earning him his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

In 1997, Combs received the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award for Songwriter of the Year.

In 2009, he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special for his role in A Raisin in the Sun, a television adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's acclaimed 1959 play.

In 2013, Combs launched his cable news channel Revolt. But a growing number of allegations of sexual abuse against him prompted Combs to resign from his post as chairman of the cable television channel Revolt in November last year.

In 2022, Combs received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award for his “contributions to music and culture” over three decades.

Despite his successes, however, Combs also made headlines for his numerous and varied legal problems.

When was Combs previously faced with allegations and charges?

In 1996, Combs was convicted of “violence of property” for threatening a New York Post photographer with a gun and was fined $1,000.

In December 1999, Combs and his then-girlfriend, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, were involved in a shooting incident at Club New York in Manhattan. Combs was charged with four counts of illegal possession of a firearm and one count of bribery for allegedly persuading his driver, Wardel Fenderson, to claim ownership of a gun found in the vehicle he drove away from the crime scene.

Although Lopez was arrested along with Combs and held at a New York City police station for about 14 hours, she was eventually released and the charges against her were dropped entirely. Combs was later acquitted of all charges.

Combs has also faced numerous allegations of sexual harassment. Although many of the charges against him have only been brought in recent years, some of them relate to incidents that occurred in the 1990s and 2000s.

November 2023: Cassie Ventura files sexual abuse lawsuit

Singer and dancer Cassie Ventura, 38, Combs' partner from 2007 to 2018, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on November 16, 2023, alleging years of abuse, human trafficking and rape over a ten-year period beginning in 2008, when she was 19 and he was 37. The suit was settled the day after it was filed for an undisclosed sum and never went to trial.

Although Combs denied any mistreatment of Ventura, in May of this year CNN obtained surveillance video from 2016 showing Combs violently attacking her in a California hotel.

A 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN shows Sean “Diddy” Combs brutally grabbing, shoving, dragging and kicking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura during an altercation at a California hotel. pic.twitter.com/xeRBtoGBDV

— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024

November 2023: Joi Dickerson files sexual abuse lawsuit

Joi Dickerson and another unidentified plaintiff filed lawsuits against Combs in Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on November 23, 2023, accusing him of sexual abuse and forced drug use in the early 1990s.

While Dickerson was a student at Syracuse University, she collaborated with Combs on a music video project. This collaboration included the 1990 song “Straight From The Soul,” performed by Finesse and Synquis, a hip-hop rap duo signed to Uptown Records, Combs' employer at the time.

December 2023: Unknown woman claims rape

An unidentified woman referred to as “Jane Doe” is cited in a federal lawsuit against Combs in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, filed on December 6, 2023. The lawsuit alleges that Combs and two others raped the woman in 2003, when she was 17 years old. The incident allegedly occurred after they transported her from Detroit to a studio in New York, where they rendered her defenseless by administering drugs.

In May, Combs' lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, citing the statute of limitations and the lack of details in the case. The case is still pending.

February 2024: Music producer accuses Combs of sexual harassment

Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a lawsuit on February 26 of this year in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York accusing Combs of unwanted sexual contact, forced sexual acts with sex workers, and forced illegal drug use.

March 2024: The Department of Homeland Security searches Combs’ homes

On March 25, several homes linked to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by the Department of Homeland Security's Investigations Division. It was reported at the time that the raids were related to a sex trafficking investigation.

Combs' attorney Aaron Dryer said at the time: “This unprecedented ambush – coupled with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a hasty conviction of Mr. Combs and is nothing less than a witch hunt based on baseless allegations in civil proceedings.”

April 2024: Combs is named as a co-defendant for sexual assault

Combs was named as a co-defendant in a criminal complaint filed April 4 in Los Angeles County Superior Court in which Grace O'Marcaigh alleges that Combs' son, Christian “King” Combs, 26, sexually assaulted her on a yacht Combs rented. The suit further alleges that Combs facilitated the assault and bribed the yacht's captain to keep quiet about the incident.

May 2024: Fashion student claims sexual harassment

April Lampros, 51, a former student at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, filed a lawsuit on May 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York accusing Combs of sexually abusing her on multiple occasions between the mid-1990s and early 2000s.

June 2024: Combs is accused of sexual assault at a party

Derrick Lee Smith, a 51-year-old Michigan inmate incarcerated at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility and convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and kidnapping, accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting him at a party at a Detroit Holiday Inn nearly three decades ago. Because the rapper failed to appear in court, Smith was awarded a $100 million default judgment on Sept. 9.

This week, however, Combs' lawyers filed a motion to overturn the verdict, arguing that the statute of limitations for filing the lawsuit expired in 2007 and that the allegations were not credible.

September 2024: Dawn Richard sues Combs for sexual assault

On September 11, Combs was sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Dawn Richard, 41, of New Orleans. Richard is a former member of the American girl group Danity Kane, which was formed in 2005 for the reality television series Making the Band 3, created by Combs. She accuses Combs of sexual harassment and psychological abuse during her participation in the show.