Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested following raids, human trafficking investigation
Fox News' Todd Piro and criminal defense attorney Lexie Rigden on Sean Combs arrested on racketeering and sex trafficking charges following grand jury indictment.
Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested Monday in Manhattan, Fox News Digital confirmed.
Combs was arrested in the lobby of a New York hotel, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital. He was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution in an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
"His spirits are good. He's confident," Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo said outside the courthouse Tuesday morning. "He is dealing with this head on, the way he's dealt with every challenge in his life. And he's not guilty. He's innocent of these charges."
"He's going to plead not guilty, obviously," he added. "He's going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers. And I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs."
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Sean Combs was accused of multiple sexual assaults in addition to a federal investigation. (Getty Images)
"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 in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
"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 he Is not a 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."
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams confirmed on X that a sealed indictment was filed and will be unsealed in the morning.
"USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY," the US Attorney's office shared on X. "We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
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On March 25, the music mogul’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation, officials confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time.
"Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners," Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement. "We will provide further information as it becomes available."
Sean Combs' LA home was raided by Homeland Security officials in March. (Getty Images)
HSI was also behind the investigation into R. Kelly, who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison back in 2023. The HSI Chicago investigation uncovered Kelly had been enticing underage girls into engaging in sexual activity with the rapper.
"Robert Kelly used his power and fame for evil when he exploited children for his own gratification," Sean Fitzgerald, special agent in charge of HSI Chicago, said after Kelly's sentencing. "We are confident that Kelly’s sentence will empower victims who are facing similar circumstances to come forward knowing they will be supported. HSI, alongside its partners from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Chicago Police Department, and IRS Criminal Investigation, will do everything in our power to ensure perpetrators like Kelly face justice."
Cassie filed a sexual abuse suit against Diddy in November, which was settled one day later. (Getty Images)
Combs, 51, still faces potential litigation in a handful of civil suits and one criminal lawsuit.
In November, Cassie, legally known as Casandra Ventura, accused Combs of raping her in her own home, enduring "over a decade" of his "violent behavior and disturbed demands" and forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched and filmed.
One day after she filed the claim, Combs and Cassie came to an amicable resolution, and she dropped the lawsuit. In May, a clip obtained exclusively by CNN from 2016 showed the rapper running down a hotel hallway wearing a towel. Moments before, Cassie (Cassandra Ventura) had walked down the same hallway with bags in her hand toward the elevators.
Once Combs reached the elevators, he grabbed Cassie by the neck and threw her to the ground. Combs then kicked her twice, picked up her bags and dragged her back down the hallway before she returned to the same area to use a phone.
WATCH: SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS ASSAULTS CASSIE IN 2016 LOS ANGELES HOTEL INCIDENT
Days later, Combs issued an apology on Instagram. "It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that. I was f---ed up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses," Combs said. "My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video."
Combs admitted, "I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry."
Ventura and her attorney declined to comment on the Combs indictment Tuesday.
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Three more women came forward with claims just before New York's Adult Survivors Act expired in December. Joi Dickerson-Neal and Liza Gardner each accused the "It’s All About the Benjamins" musician of sexual assault in separate filings.
Jane Doe alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by Combs and the president of his entertainment company, Harve Pierre, along with a third individual, when she was 17 years old, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
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Diddy denied the claim, saying in a statement shared with Fox News Digital: "Enough is enough. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy."
Sean Combs faces multiple sexual assault lawsuits. (Getty Images)
A music producer, Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones, who sued Combs for sexual assault in February, also added actor Cuba Gooding Jr. to his complaint. Jones, who produced "The Love Album: Off the Grid," claimed that he had lived with Combs for extended periods of time and accused the "I'll Be Missing You" singer of sexual assault and forcing him to perform sex acts with prostitutes.
Combs' legal team slammed Jones' accusations as "complete lies," and claimed the producer was "nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday," Combs' attorney Shawn Holley told Fox News Digital at the time.
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In May, two more accusers came forward with accusations in lawsuits filed against the Bad Boy Records founder. Model Crystal McKinney claimed she was attacked and forced to "perform oral sex" on Diddy at his recording studio in 2003.
Crystal McKinney filed a suit against Diddy on May 22 for an alleged sexual assault which occurred in 2003. (Getty Images)
Diddy and Kim Porter dated for nearly 13 years. The late supermodel died in 2018 at the age of 47. (Christopher Polk)
Former Arista records intern April Lampros said her friendship with Combs in the '90s quickly "manifested into an aggressive, coercive, and abusive relationship based on sex," in documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Lampros recalled "four terrifying sexual encounters" with Combs, one of which was from 1996 when Combs "forced" Kim Porter and Lampros to take ecstasy and then "demanded Kim Porter to have sexual intercourse with Ms. Lampros."
Combs and Porter dated for nearly 13 years and have three children together. Porter died in November 2018. She was 47.
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Fox News Digital's Larry Fink and Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.
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