Authorities charged Sean “Diddy” Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and more following a months-long investigation against the rapper.
Combs was arrested Monday by federal agents based on a sealed indictment, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed. The rapper was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution in the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
“His spirits are good. He’s confident,” Combs’ 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’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.”
“I’m going to fight like hell to get him released, and he should be released,” Agnifilo said. “With all that he’s done and coming here voluntarily.”
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Authorities claimed Diddy ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises and Combs Global, among others. He used “violence, use of firearms, threats of violence, coercion, and verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse” to fulfill his sexual desires, according to the unsealed indictment obtained by Fox News Digital.
Combs and his employees would “intimidate, threaten, and lure female victims into Comb’s orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs allegedly then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, ‘Freak Offs.'”
The “Finna Get Loose” singer allegedly transported male sex workers across state and international lines for the purpose of engaging in non-consensual sex with his female victims.
Combs engaged his victims in “physical, emotional, and verbal abuse” in order to force them into participating in the “freak offs,” the court docs read. Diddy would also supply drugs to the sex workers and female victims to facilitate sexual encounters.
“Freak Offs were elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded,” authorities stated. Diddy often provided IV fluids to his victims following “freak offs” to recover from physical exertion and drug use, the indictment read.
Diddy allegedly maintained control of his victims by promising career opportunities or threatening to take away the same opportunities, withholding financial support, controlling the victim’s housing and more.
“Combs also used the sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings that he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims,” according to the indictment.
During raids on Diddy’s home in March, authorities seized “freak off supplies” along with three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, the court docs stated.
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The “I’ll Be Missing You” singer was arrested in a New York City hotel lobby, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
Combs’ legal team slammed the charges as an “unjust prosecution” in a statement shared with 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,” Marc Agnifilo said in a statement.
“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,” the statement continued. “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.”
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Homeland Security agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation on March 25, officials confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time.
Combs faces a mountain of legal claims after multiple women accused him of sexual assault beginning in November 2023. Cassie, legally known as Casandra Ventura, alleged she endured “over a decade” of Combs’ “violent behavior and disturbed demands” in a lawsuit. Combs and his ex-girlfriend settled the matter a day later outside of court.
Three more women came forward with claims just before New York’s Adult Survivors Act expired in December.
Combs was also sued by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones in February. Jones accused the rapper of forcing him to perform sexual acts with prostitutes in his lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
He faces a handful of additional sexual abuse lawsuits, all of which he has denied.
Amid his legal troubles, Combs stepped down as chairman of his cable network Revolt in November.
“This decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and African diaspora,” the network said in a statement.
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
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