SEAN COMBS INDICTED ON CHARGES OF SEX TRAFFICKING, RACKETEERING
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Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was indicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday, after being arrested Monday following a series of sexual assault allegations and a federal investigation.
Combs was indicted on three counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, cause or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution, based on actions that allegedly occurred between 2009 and 2018 for sex trafficking, and 2009 and 2024 for prostitution.
The indictment alleges Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” claiming he also used his business empire to “creat[e] a criminal enterprise” in which associates engaged in or attempted to engage in “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
Prosecutors alleged Combs engaged in “a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse” including “verbal, emotional, sexual and physical abuse,” accusing Combs of “striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking” women and alleging his employees helped facilitate and cover up his abuse.
Combs allegedly manipulated women into engaging in “extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers” that the mogul described as “Freak Offs,” prosecutors claim in the indictment, and Combs and his associates allegedly transported sex workers across state lines—which prosecutors allege constitutes sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution—and allegedly drugged women to keep them “obedient and compliant.”
Prosecutors confirmed Combs had been arrested Monday night in Manhattan, but the charges were only unsealed Tuesday morning.
Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo has denied any wrongdoing by the mogul, telling CNN Monday Combs “voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges” and has “nothing to hide.”
Combs has been in federal custody since his arrest and will appear in court later Tuesday, Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, told reporters. It’s unclear how long the criminal case against Combs will take to play out from here, though Williams said prosecutors will ask for Combs to be detained in prison until his trial. The prosecutor also said the investigation remains ongoing regarding both Combs and his associates, and would not rule out that additional charges may be brought. In addition to his criminal case, Combs also still faces multiple civil lawsuits brought by women accusing the mogul of sexual assault.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office,” Agnifilo told CNN Monday, telling people to “please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts.” Combs has long denied the allegations of sexual assault against him as accusers have brought civil lawsuits, writing in a now-deleted social media post: “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
The indictment appears to reference a video that was made public in May showing Combs appear to assault then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016, which garnered widespread attention and Combs apologized for. “My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” Combs said, adding he “sought out professional help” afterwards. The indictment classifies the incident documented in the video as one of numerous times Combs allegedly assaulted women from 2009 onward, alleging the incidents were occasionally witnessed by others and that after a hotel worker saw the assault depicted in the 2016 video, Combs “attempted to bribe the staff member to ensure silence.”
Prosecutors accuse Combs and his associates of using bribery, threats and violence to cover up his alleged abuse, and to manipulate women into participating in his “Freak Offs” and stay in his orbit. The indictment says Combs would leverage the financial support he provided to coerce women and promise them career opportunities, also maintaining control over their appearance and medical records, tracking their location and providing them housing. Prosecutors allege victims felt they couldn’t resist Combs’ demands “without risking their financial or job security” or subjecting themselves to abuse. Prosecutors also say Combs would sometimes keep women in hiding for several days in order to conceal injuries they sustained, and notes associates would help Combs “in locating and contacting victims who attempted to flee his abuse.” Combs allegedly used violence including “kidnapping and arson” if anyone, including employees or witnesses to the abuse, threatened Combs’ reputation—and notes Combs and his associates carried firearms—along with “threats of violence, threats of financial and reputational harm, and verbal abuse. Once the accusations against Combs started coming out last year, prosecutors allege Combs and his employees bribed victims to remain silent and give false stories to law enforcement.
When investigators searched Combs’ residences in March, the indictment says law enforcement recovered more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, along with other “various Freak Off supplies.” Investigators say they also found firearms and ammunition including “three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers” and a drum magazine, a high-capacity magazine that can carry a large number of bullets.
Racketeering is a charge used to indict an organized scheme in which a criminal enterprise demonstrates a pattern of racketeering activity, which are underlying crimes that may or may not be charged in themselves, and that scheme affects interstate or foreign commerce. It’s typically used to prosecute organized crime but can be applied to a wide variety of enterprises; for instance, former President Donald Trump and his allies were indicted on state racketeering charges in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election. In this case, prosecutors allege Combs and his associates engaged in racketeering through the alleged scheme to transport sex workers and manipulate and abuse women and then conceal the abuse, which involves interstate commerce since sex workers were allegedly transported across state lines. The indictment alleges Combs and his associates committed a number of underlying crimes when they engaged in the alleged scheme, including kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and possession and distribution of narcotics and other controlled substances.
Forbes estimates Combs’ net worth at approximately $400 million as of June. The mogul’s wealth has fallen as the allegations against him have come out, as Forbes previously pegged Combs’ net worth at an estimated $740 million in 2019.
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