Embattled music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has entered a not guilty plea to a broadened federal indictment that now includes five criminal charges, among them racketeering and sex trafficking.
On Monday, April 14, 2025, the 55-year-old rapper appeared before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan, where he formally responded to the updated charges. He had already pleaded not guilty to an earlier three-count indictment tied to the same case.
In a previously issued statement from Combs’ media team, his attorneys maintained his innocence, asserting, “These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships.”
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Despite the heightened charges, the trial is still slated to proceed on its original schedule, with jury selection set to begin on May 5 and opening arguments scheduled for May 12.
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Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told the court the legal team may request a two-week delay for opening statements to allow time to review emails they are seeking from one of the alleged victims.
Judge Subramanian acknowledged the possibility but warned the process would not slow down lightly. “We are a freight train moving towards trial,” he said, requiring that any request for a delay be submitted within 48 hours.
According to federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, Combs allegedly used the power and reach of his entertainment empire to exploit and sexually abuse women from 2004 to 2024.
The accusations include coercing women into participating in orchestrated sexual acts—referred to as “freak offs”—which were often recorded and sometimes involved male sex workers transported across state lines.
Combs, who has been held at a detention facility in Brooklyn since September, also faces numerous civil lawsuits brought by both women and men alleging sexual abuse.
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His defense team continues to deny all wrongdoing, maintaining that any sexual encounters were consensual. Agnifilo has specifically pushed back against the trafficking charges, asserting that Combs “never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will,” and reiterating that the so-called “freak offs” were voluntary.
Known variously throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs rose to fame as the founder of Bad Boy Records, a label instrumental in launching the careers of music icons such as Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G., and Usher during the 1990s and 2000s.
Prosecutors, however, argue that Combs’ public image masked a far more sinister reality. They cited a 2016 incident in which he was caught on surveillance footage allegedly kicking, dragging, and hurling a vase at a woman attempting to leave a Los Angeles hotel room.
A separate and widely broadcast CNN video from last year captured Combs striking and dragging singer Casandra Ventura, better known as Cassie, who was once his girlfriend.
Sean “Diddy” Combs issued a public apology following the video’s release. Agnifilo, in response, acknowledged the relationship’s volatility but denied the incident amounted to trafficking. He characterized their connection as “a toxic, loving 11-year relationship.”
