On Monday, Sean "Diddy" Combs was indicted on three counts of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. As a result, he was arrested at the Park Hyatt Hotel in New York City where he'd been living for several weeks as the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York conducted an investigation—which remains ongoing.
The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday morning and includes allegations that Combs operated a “criminal enterprise” that threatened, abused, and coerced women and others, and accuses him of forced labor and kidnapping, among several other egregious charges, that allegedly has been taking place since 2008.
“Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and the obstruction of justice,” Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, told reporters during a press conference after the indictment was made public.
Combs, Williams said, used force and threats of force to organize and engage victims in sex performances with male sex worker—many of whom he transported internationally or over state lines—known as "freak offs." These “occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers." They were also recorded by Combs to use as "collateral" and involved narcotics to keep victims "obedient and compliant."
Williams also said that the "freak offs" were aided by multiple individuals in Combs' circle including high-ranking supervisors, personal assistants, security, and household staff.
"They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens and lighting," Williams alleged. "When the hotel rooms got damaged, they cleaned it up.” These individuals also “arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the ‘freak offs,’” and delivered significant amounts of cash to Combs in order “to pay for the commercial sex workers.”
In March, when Combs' estates in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by Homeland Security, agents seized multiple AR-15 rifles, ammunition, and a large capacity drum magazine, as well as electronic devices that contain images and footage of the "freak offs" with several victims. Also taken from the homes were "cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that Combs’ staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak off. More than 1,000 bottles altogether,” Williams said.
Though he didn't name Combs' ex-girlfriend, Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura directly, Williams also cited the 2016 hotel security footage that showed Combs physically assaulting her in a hallway. According to Williams, Combs attempted to bribe a staff member who had intervened with a stack of cash to remain quiet. According to Williams, deploying bribery, threats, and intimidation was a regular practice for Combs and his employees in covering up his abuse—so much so that he "has already tried to obstruct the Government's investigation of this case, repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and feeding them false narratives of events."
Williams said the Attorney's Office “is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking no matter how powerful, wealthy or famous you may be. No one should doubt our commitment on that.”
"We are not done," he continued. "This investigation is ongoing and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly." Prosecutors are currently seeking to keep Combs in federal custody.
Meanwhile, Combs' legal team is fighting for his release. In a statement, his attorneys called him "an imperfect person" but "not a criminal."
“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,” the statement reads. It also noted that their client had “voluntarily relocated to New York” in anticipation of the charges.
“These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide,” his attorneys added, “and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Since the end of 2023, Combs has faced a torrent of lawsuits—both criminal and civil. In November 2023, he settled with Ventura for an undisclosed amount after she alleged she had been “trapped in a cycle of abuse violence, and sex trafficking” during their relationship. Since then, a number of others have followed, including—most recently—Dawn Richard, who alleged that Combs assaulted and threatened her when he employed her from 2005 to 2012 and that she witnessed him brutally assault Ventura.
Combs has continued to deny all of the allegations against him. Hours before his arrest, he was photographed taking selfies with fans and sunbathing in Central Park.
