Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges on Tuesday and a judge denied him bail. He was remanded in custody to await trial in a high-profile case against one of the music industry’s most influential figures.
For decades, Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his behavior,” according to the unsealed indictment that led to his arrest on September 16 on three counts: conspiracy to commit organized crime, sex trafficking and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
The 14-page document did not identify any victims, but mentioned the March 2016 incident in which Combs – also known as “Diddy” and “Puff Daddy” – was caught on surveillance video punching, kicking and throwing a vase at his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel. It alleges that the Bad Boy Entertainment founder attempted to bribe a hotel security guard who intervened to enforce silence.
The Sept. 12 indictment lays out a litany of allegations against Combs, alleging that he “persistently and pervasively abused women and other individuals” after becoming a star in the 1990s, and that the abuse was “verbal, emotional, physical and sexual.” He allegedly used his various businesses, based at times in New York and Los Angeles, and his employees to cover up alleged criminal acts, including “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside that his client was innocent, adding that he was “in good spirits” and “confident in his case.”
On Monday, Agnifilo said in a statement: “We are disappointed in the U.S. Attorney’s decision to continue to prosecute Mr. Combs, which we believe is an unjustified prosecution. 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 working to advance the black community.”
It concluded: “He is an imperfect human being, but he is not a criminal. To Mr. Combs’ credit, he has been consistently cooperative with this investigation and voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve judgment until you know all the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The most shocking allegations
Diddy organized “freak-offs” in which women allegedly had to participate against their will.
According to the government, Combs used his power to “lure female victims into his orbit, often under the guise of a romantic relationship.” Then, through “force, threats of force, and coercion,” the victims were tricked into engaging in “extended sexual acts” with multiple “male sex workers” in sex sessions he called “freak offs.”
Combs is accused of arranging and directing the “sex performances” and masturbating during them. He often recorded them, sometimes without the victims’ knowledge. The “freak offs” lasted several days and involved several sex workers.
Combs is said to have given the victims drugs to keep them “obedient and submissive.”
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a press conference on Tuesday that these drugs include narcotics such as ketamine, ecstasy and GHB.
After the day-long sex sessions, “Combs and the victims were typically given intravenous fluids to help them recover from the physical exertion.”
Combs’ associates allegedly arranged for the sex workers to cross state lines. They also booked hotels, stocked rooms with “freak-off paraphernalia” and organized travel for the victims.
The recordings made by Combs served as “security material” to ensure the “silence of the victims,” the indictment states.
The allegations are similar to those made by Ventura in her 2023 lawsuit against Combs.
Weapons and “freak-off” materials were found during raids in March
According to the indictment, authorities seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers and a drum magazine, during the raid on Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March 2024.
They also seized “various freak-off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricants.”
File refers to incident at Cassie Hotel
The government alleges that Combs’ “pattern of abuse” included “numerous occasions” beginning “in about 2009 and continuing for years” during which he “attacked women” by “hitting, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking” them.
It alleges the attacks were “sometimes witnessed by others,” including the one against Ventura, for which he claimed responsibility earlier this year after surveillance video of the 2016 attack was released. It alleges Combs attempted to bribe a member of the hotel’s security staff who witnessed the incident.
The indictment states that Combs’ “violence” was not limited to the female victims, but also extended to his co-workers and witnesses to his abuse.
Diddy is accused of using “arson” and other tactics to control the victims
The indictment alleges that Combs used weapons, kidnappings and arson to exert control over his victims.
Although the lawsuit does not name any alleged arson victim, Ventura claims that Combs threatened to blow up Cudi’s car when she briefly dated Kid Cudi in 2012. “It was around that time that Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway,” her lawsuit states.
Attempts to obtain bail
His team had been trying to negotiate his release from custody pending his trial on three federal charges. Combs had offered to post $50 million bail using his Miami home as collateral, NBC News reported, citing details of a bail proposal filed by his defense team.
The rapper, whose career has stalled over the past 10 months due to the allegations, also offered to wear a GPS device and limit his travel to New York City and Miami.
Documents show that Combs is in the process of selling his private plane and recently put his Los Angeles home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood, which was raided in March, up for sale.
Dylan Stableford contributed to this report.
If you have been affected by abuse and need support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233or if you cannot speak confidently, you can register at thehotline.org or send an SMS with the text LOVEIS to 22522.
