Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty to human trafficking charges Tuesday, but a judge denied him bail as he remains in custody awaiting trial in a explosive case against one of music’s most influential figures.
According to the unsealed indictment that led to his Sept. 16 arrest on three counts of racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him for decades to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”
No victims were identified in the 14-page document, but it referenced the March 2016 incident in which Combs — also known as “Diddy” and “Puff Daddy” — was captured on surveillance footage punching, kicking and throwing a vase at then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel. It is alleged that the Bad Boy Entertainment founder attempted to bribe a member of hotel security who intervened to ensure silence.
The indictment, filed Sept. 12, lays out a litany of allegations against Combs, alleging that he “engaged in a persistent and widespread pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals” after he became a star in the 1990s and that the abuse was “verbal, emotional, physical and sexual.” He allegedly used his various companies, some of which were headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, and employees to cover up alleged criminal conduct, including “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.”
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo said outside court that his client is innocent and that he is in “good spirits” and “confident” in his case.
On Monday, Agnifilo said in a statement: “We are disappointed with the decision to prosecute Mr. Combs, which we believe is an unjust prosecution by the United States Attorney’s Office. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the past 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the Black community.”
It concluded: “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 voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve judgment until you have all the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The most shocking allegations
Diddy organized “freak-offs,” where women were reportedly forced to participate against their will
According to the government, Combs would use his power to “lure female victims into prison.” [his] job, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.” The victims were then forced, through “force, threat of force, and coercion,” to “perform extensive sexual acts” with multiple “male commercial sex workers” in sex sessions he called “freak-offs.”
Combs is accused of arranging, directing and masturbating to the “sex performances,” which he often recorded, sometimes without the victims’ knowledge. The “freak-offs” lasted for days and involved multiple sex workers.
Combs allegedly distributed drugs to the victims to keep them “obedient and compliant.”
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference Tuesday that the drugs involved included ketamine, ecstasy and GHB.
After the days-long sex sessions, Combs and the victims were typically given IVs to recover from the physical exertion.
Combs associates allegedly arranged for the sex workers to cross state lines, book hotels, fill rooms with “freak off supplies,” and arrange travel for victims.
The recordings Combs made were used as “collateral” to ensure the “silence of the victims,” the complaint said.
The allegations are similar to those Ventura made in her 2023 lawsuit against Combs.
Weapons and ‘freak-off’ equipment found during raids in March
According to the indictment, authorities seized firearms and ammunition during raids on Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March 2024, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers and a drum magazine.
They also seized “various supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.”
Cassie hotel incident mentioned in file
The government alleges that Combs’ “pattern of abuse” included “numerous occasions” beginning “in approximately 2009 and continuing for years” in which he “attacked women” by “hitting, punching, dragging, throwing objects at them, and kicking them.”
It alleges that the attacks were “sometimes witnessed by others,” including the one against Ventura, for which he took responsibility earlier this year after surveillance video of the 2016 attack was made public. It alleges that Combs attempted to bribe a member of the hotel’s security staff who witnessed the incident.
The lawsuit alleges that Combs’ “violence” was not limited to the female victims, but also extended to his employees and people who witnessed his abuse.
Diddy accused of using ‘arson’ and other tactics to control victims
The indictment alleges that Combs used weapons, kidnapping and arson to control his victims.
While no alleged arson victim is named, Ventura alleged in her lawsuit that when she briefly dated Kid Cudi in 2012, Combs threatened to blow up Cudi’s car. “At that time, Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway,” her lawsuit states.
Attempts at bail
His team attempted to negotiate his release pending trial on three federal charges. Combs offered to post $50 million bail, using his Miami home as collateral, NBC News reported, citing details of a proposed bail package submitted by his defense team.
The rapper, whose career has been in the doldrums for the past 10 months amid the allegations, also offered to wear a GPS monitor and travel only in New York City and Miami.
Documents revealed that Combs is in the process of selling his private plane. He also recently put his Los Angeles home, in the Holmby Hills neighborhood that was searched in March, up for sale.
Dylan Stableford contributed to this report.
For anyone experiencing abuse and needing support, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233or if you cannot speak safely, you can log in at dehotline.org or send LOVEIS to 22522.
