Following his arrest on Monday, federal authorities charged Sean “Diddy” Combs on Tuesday, Sept. 17 with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
According to the unsealed indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the embattled rap mogul engaged in a “persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals.”
Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges in court and reportedly offered a $50,000,000 bond, restricted travel, including home detention with GPS monitoring as part of his bail package. However, a federal judge denied his request for bail, and he remains in custody at the Special Housing Unit in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until his next court appearance.
If found guilty, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison or a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The indictment follows Combs’ arrest in New York City late Monday. Officials confirmed that law enforcement took Diddy into custody without incident at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan.
Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s attorney, criticized the decision to proceed with the indictment. “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 told The New York Times.
“These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.” Agnifilo also noted, “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”
This arrest marks the latest in a series of legal troubles for Diddy. In the past year, he has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, including a bombshell lawsuit from ex-girlfriend Cassie, which accused him of rape, physical abuse, and sex trafficking. Diddy and Cassie settled the suit one day after she filed it.
Since November 2023, Diddy has been sued eight times for alleged sexual misconduct, with additional accusations surfacing shortly after the settlement with Cassie.
Federal investigations into Diddy’s activities came to light in March when agents raided his Miami and Los Angeles homes, reportedly as part of probes into sex trafficking, money laundering, and illegal drug activities. Despite the mounting allegations, Diddy has vehemently denied many of them, describing them as extortion attempts.
Recent lawsuits include allegations from former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard, who claims Diddy sexually assaulted and terrorized her for years. Also, Diddy’s former head of security, Roger Bonds, revealed in a televised interview that he witnessed the mogul’s violent behavior toward women “four or five times,” including with Cassie and Kim Porter, the mother of Diddy’s children.
A video from 2016 shows Diddy violently attacking Cassie, an incident he later apologized for, calling it “inexcusable.” Despite this public apology, Cassie’s attorney criticized Diddy’s statement as self-serving and coming only after his denials were proven false.
Further lawsuits include accusations from former fashion student April Lampros and former model Crystal McKinney, who allege Diddy drugged them before sexually assaulting them. Another suit from Joi Dickerson-Neal claims that Diddy drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1991, recording the incident without her consent.
Just a week ago, Diddy filed an emergency motion to overturn the $100 million default judgment lodged against him for not responding to a sexual assault lawsuit from a Michigan inmate.
According to legal documents, Diddy claimed he was never served with the lawsuit and that he had no idea who 51-year-old Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith was.
Diddy’s legal team has moved to dismiss parts of these lawsuits, labeling them “false, offensive, and salacious.”