Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested late Monday (Sept. 16) in Manhattan in the lobby of a New York hotel.
Prosecutors did not immediately announce details of the charges as the indictment is currently sealed.
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) September 17, 2024
Combs’ legal representatives issued a statement responding to the arrest.
“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,” said Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ attorney.
“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. 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.”
On Nov. 16, Combs was sued in federal court by his ex-girlfriend and former Bad Boy artist, Cassie Ventura. Ventura accused him of rape and repeated physical assault and sex trafficking. Despite denying the allegations, Combs settled the lawsuit within 24 hours. Less than a week later, Joi Dickerson-Neal accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1991 while she was a college student. Dickerson-Neal alleges that he filmed the attack and showed the footage to individuals in the industry. The following day, on Nov. 24., Rolling Stone reported that an unidentified woman had filed a third lawsuit, accusing Combs and singer Aaron Hall of sexually assaulting her and her friend.
Shortly after, Combs “temporarily” stepped down as chairman of Revolt. Combs co-founded the company in 2013 alongside Andy Schuon before eventually selling his entire stake in REVOLT.
Image credit: ShutterStock
In February, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and have sex with them. Jones also alleged Combs attempted to groom him to have sexual relations with other celebrities, namely Hollywood actor Cobe Gooding Jr.
Combs has been hit with several more lawsuits, the most recent being filed against him by Dawn Richards, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane.
Richards alleged Combs owed her an estimated $3.5 million in “unpaid salaries and royalties” for the first two albums released by the “Damaged” group and “unpaid wages for touring on over 100 dates.” Richards says she witnessed Combs physically assaulting numerous women, including his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura.
