Monday, September 16, 2024

Sean Combs Taken Into Custody Following Federal Indictment

Sean Combs, the music mogul and entrepreneur known as Diddy, was arrested Monday evening in Manhattan following a sealed grand jury indictment, according to his attorney and federal prosecutors. While the exact charges remain undisclosed, sources familiar with the investigation suggest they may include racketeering and sex trafficking.

Combs, 54, was taken into custody at a Manhattan hotel, his attorney Marc Agnifilo confirmed.

"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,” Agnifilo said. He added that Combs has been cooperating fully with the investigation and “relocated to New York last week in anticipation of being charged.”

“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 is an imperfect person but not a criminal,” Agnifilo said. “These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Federal prosecutors are expected to unseal the indictment on Tuesday, according to Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

"We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” Williams said.

Combs is facing mounting legal troubles. In addition to the indictment, he has been the subject of a months-long federal investigation into allegations of sex trafficking, which included raids by federal agents on his Los Angeles and Miami homes in March.

Earlier this year, CNN reported that federal prosecutors were preparing to bring Combs’s accusers before a grand jury, signaling the government’s intent to seek an indictment. Since November 2023, Combs has been named in ten lawsuits, nine of which accuse him of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault.

While Combs has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the lawsuits, he issued a public apology after CNN released surveillance footage in May showing him assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie (Casandra Ventura) in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

The lawsuit filed by Cassie last November described years of abuse, including claims that Combs forced her into drug-fueled sexual encounters and abused her physically and emotionally. That suit was settled swiftly, with Combs continuing to deny any wrongdoing. However, five additional women have come forward with civil suits, alleging similar misconduct.

A prolific producer, Combs is credited with helping bring hip-hop into the mainstream, launching the careers of artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige through his label Bad Boy Entertainment. His career flourished throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and he expanded his empire into fashion, liquor, and television, including the reality competition show "Making the Band" on MTV. He also co-founded the cable network Revolt and launched his latest business venture, Love Records, under which he released his album "The Love Album: Off the Grid" in 2023.

However, the legal battles are taking a toll on Combs’s brand. He has sold his stake in Revolt and his share of DeLeón tequila, a partnership with the spirits conglomerate Diageo. His Los Angeles mansion in the Holmby Hills neighborhood, where federal agents carried out a raid in March, was recently listed for sale at $61.5 million.

Combs’s attorney and legal team continue to push back against the charges.

“Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation,” Agnifilo said. “He relocated to New York voluntarily and looks forward to clearing his name.”

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