Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal woes continue to mount after federal agents arrested the embattled music executive at a Manhattan hotel on Monday. Per The New York Times, Combs, 54, was taken into custody after he was indicted by a grand jury.
Combs’ arrest comes about six months after agents with Homeland Security raided his Miami and Los Angeles homes in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation. The Bad Boy Records founder is also facing multiple sexual assault lawsuits.
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, told the news outlet that he suspected his client was facing racketeering and sex trafficking charges – though the indictment was sealed and authorities were yet to disclose the charges.
RELATED STORIES
Agnifilo also told TMZ that they were “disappointed with the decision to pursue” what they believe “is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“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,” Agnifilo added.
“He is an imperfect person but is not 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.”
READ ALSO: Diddy responds after he’s ordered to pay $100M in sexual assault lawsuit
Combs’ arrest was also confirmed by Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,” Williams said in a Monday statement shared on X. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
Combs, at the time of his arrest, was expected to spend the night in custody before being arraigned on Tuesday, The New York Times reported.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Combs currently remains under public scrutiny after CNN shared a video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The rapper and music executive had initially denied allegations of rape and abuse from Cassie. But he later issued an apology on social media after the circulation of the video.
Combs and Cassie started dating in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for over 10 years. The American music mogul signed Cassie to his label in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37.
And Cassie, now 38, initially filed a lawsuit in New York federal court alleging that Combs brought her into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” after she met him. The lawsuit further alleged that Combs was “prone to uncontrollable rage” and physically abused her during their relationship including punching, beating, kicking, and stomping on her.
It alleged that Combs urged Cassie to use drugs and forced her to have sex with other men while he masturbated and filmed. The lawsuit was later dismissed after both parties reached an undisclosed settlement.
