Sean Combs denied bail on sex trafficking, racketeering charges

Details of the charges faced by the rap mogul have been revealed in a New York court, marking a stunning turn for the one-time kingmaker.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and sex trafficking charges. Picture: Getty Images

Sean “Diddy” Combs was ordered to be held in jail while he awaits trial on charges alleging he helped run a sex-trafficking enterprise, marking a stunning turn for the one-time kingmaker in the world of hip-hop.

Prosecutors in New York’s Southern District said Combs repeatedly abused and assaulted women. They said he and his associates lured victims into the star’s orbit and then forced or coerced them to engage in sexual activity with sex workers, according to a federal grand jury indictment that was filed last week and unsealed Tuesday.

Combs was taken into custody on Monday night.

Wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants, Combs sat stoically next to his lawyer Tuesday afternoon in court during his arraignment. He spoke only once, standing and adjusting the microphone before him to say “not guilty.” A federal magistrate judge ordered Combs detained after a prosecutor argued in court that the rapper was a flight risk, posed a danger to the community and could threaten the integrity of the case.

Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said in court that the sexual acts alleged in the indictment involved consenting adults.

“Is it sex trafficking? No, not if everybody wants to be there,” Agnifilo said. “We are not better off if the federal government comes into our bedroom and that’s what is happening here.”

Agnifilo pushed for his release on a $50m bond and be placed under home detention in his Miami property. He said during the hearing that Combs had co-operated throughout the investigation and had made a show of good faith that he would not flee.

Months ago, the rapper had given his passport to his lawyer and was in the process of selling his plane.

He had also voluntarily flown to New York two weeks ago in anticipation that he would be arrested and charged, the lawyer said. “He has earned this court’s trust through his actions,” Agnifilo said.

Combs was charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transporting for prostitution, according to court records. He had run his enterprise from around 2008 until the indictment was filed, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Combs arranged, directed and recorded often days-long sex events, which were called “freak offs.” Combs would use the recordings as collateral to keep his victims silent, prosecutors said.

“During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” prosecutors wrote. Combs and victims often received IV fluids after the “freak offs” to help them recover from the drug use and physical exertion, according to the indictment.

Lawyer for Sean Combs, Marc Agnifilo, speaks to the media after a hearing at US District Court in New York City. Picture: Getty Images

An up-ended career

Combs, 54, was a 1990s superstar who brought his brand of flashy hip-hop to the mainstream. He shepherded the careers of artists including the Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans through his record label, Bad Boy Records.

He turned his fame into a business empire, selling clothing, alcohol and cologne. Combs — who went by the names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and later Diddy — faced numerous allegations and lawsuits that up-ended his career.

Combs has been the subject of several lawsuits in recent months, with allegations including rape, sexual assault, physical abuse and forced drugging. Some of the lawsuits allege that incidents occurred decades ago.

“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. attorney’s office,” Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, said in a statement Monday night after the arrest. He said Combs is “an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”

Department of Homeland Security agents raided houses connected to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami in March as part of a human-trafficking investigation, according to a federal official at the time.

Authorities searching his homes earlier this year found three AR-15 rifles and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said.

The Los Angeles home of Sean Combs was raided by Homeland Security Investigations in March. Picture: Supplied

‘Freak offs’

Combs’s employees booked hotel rooms, stocked them for “freak offs” and helped him monitor victims, prosecutors said. If anyone threatened Combs’s authority or reputation, he or his associates were known to commit acts of violence including kidnapping and arson, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said during “freak offs,” Combs would hit, kick or drag victims by their hair. Sometimes they would be required to stay in hiding for several days to recover from these injuries. He tried to control his victims by promising career opportunities or threatening to withhold financial support, among other means, prosecutors said.

“Victims believed they could not refuse Combs’ demands without risking their financial or job security or without repercussions in the form of physical or emotional abuse,” prosecutors wrote.

Ahead of his arraignment, prosecutors said in a filing that during the course of the government’s investigation, Combs repeatedly contacted witnesses and victims to feed them false narratives of events. In one instance, a Combs accomplice recorded a phone call during which the rapper repeatedly asked for a victim’s support and friendship while trying to convince her that she willingly engaged in sex acts.

Police cars block a street outside the home of Combs in March. Picture: AFP

“Simply put, he is a serial abuser and a serial obstructer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said during Combs’s hearing in pushing for his detention. She added that when Combs was arrested Monday evening, investigators found bags with pink powder in his hotel room. Tests were still being run on the powder, Johnson said, but it appeared to be a narcotic that was similar to the drug ecstasy.

Checkered past

In November, Combs was sued by former girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, a singer. She accused him of physical and mental abuse spanning roughly a decade. The two settled the following day.

About six months later, CNN released a 2016 video of Combs shoving and kicking Ventura in a hotel hallway. Combs issued an apology, saying the footage caught him at “rock bottom.” During Tuesday’s court appearance, Agnifilo, Combs’s lawyer, said that the rapper and Ventura had been in a loving 10-year relationship that at times was mutually toxic.

Agnifilo said that the sexual acts involving Combs, Ventura and other men were consensual. Ventura only claimed of being coerced after she tried to get Combs to pay $30m for the rights to a book she was writing about her relationship with him, Agnifilo said.

When that failed, she filed a lawsuit last year, making for the first time the sexual-abuse allegations against Combs, according to the lawyer. The lawsuit was later settled for a large sum, Agnifilo said.

“She didn’t say that until she stood to get $30m for saying that, ” he said.

A week after he settled with Ventura, Combs was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Joi Dickerson-Neal in New York City in 1991.

A second, unnamed claimant alleged Combs forced her into having sex after a party and later physically attacked her at her home.

In February, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr. filed a suit accusing Combs of sexual harassment and other misconduct.

A video released in May by CNN shows CCTV footage showing Combs, wrapped in a towel, assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016.

Combs has denied the allegations made against him.

In a December social-media post, Combs said people were trying to destroy his reputation and that he “did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”

Combs’s businesses took a hit after the allegations. A New York charter school Combs helped create broke ties with him, and he stepped aside from Revolt, a television network he co-founded, later selling his stake altogether.

His star seemed to be waning even before the allegations. Department store chain Macy’s had begun phasing out his clothing line, Sean John.

And he started a legal battle with liquor giant Diageo last year. The company then cut ties with Combs in June 2023, ending his nearly 20-year run as the face of Ciroc vodka.

Combs and Diageo settled the lawsuit in January.

Dow Jones