Hip-hop artist and music industry mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested late on September 16 following an indictment by a federal grand jury.
Per previous Newsweek The charges reportedly came after years of allegations of abuse, sexual assault and sex trafficking against Combs.
The indictment is currently sealed but is expected to be released by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on September 17.
USA Damian Williams: Tonight, federal agents arrested Sean Combs on a sealed indictment from the SDNY. We expect to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say then.
— U.S. Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) 17 September 2024
Combs is represented in court by Marc Agnifilo of the Agnifilo Law Group.
What is Marc Agnifilo’s background?
Agnifilo received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Connecticut College in 1986, according to a resume available for download on his law firm’s website.
In 1990, he earned his JD from Brooklyn Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award for excellence in litigation.
Agnifilo is a member of several bar associations, including the New York State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, the United States Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Giorgio Viera/Getty Images
Who else did Marc Agnifilo represent?
Prior to joining Combs, Agnifilo was involved in several high-profile and controversial cases, including representing Keith Raniere, the founder of NXIVM, originally a multi-level marketing company that evolved into what has been described as a “cult-like” group.
Raniere was charged with sex trafficking and organized crime and was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1.75 million in 2019 after being found guilty of sex trafficking and other crimes.
Agnifilo also represented Roger Ng, a Goldman Sachs employee who was convicted in 2022 of bribery and corruption in connection with a plot involving Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, the LA Times reported.
“The harm to the Malaysian people is immeasurable,” the prosecutor said in his closing argument. “It is profoundly unfair to everyone else who follows the rules.”
Ng’s lawyers argued that Ng was being made a scapegoat for the crimes of others.
“Roger is basically the scapegoat for the whole thing,” Agnifilo said at the time.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
What did Agnifilo say about Diddy?
On September 16, Agnifilo spoke to TMZ following his client’s arrest, saying, “We are disappointed in the U.S. Attorney’s decision to continue what we believe is an unjustified prosecution of Mr. Combs.”
He added: “He is an imperfect human being, but not a criminal.”
He told TMZ that Combs voluntarily moved to New York last week to cooperate with the investigation. He said: “These are the actions of an innocent man who has nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Newsweek has reached out to Marc Agnifilo for comment outside of business hours and will update this article with any response.
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