Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has faced a stream of allegations by women accusing him of sexual assault, was arrested late on Monday in New York after he was indicted by a federal grand jury.
Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement posted on social media late Monday that “we expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
Details of the charges weren’t immediately announced by prosecutors, but Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr Combs by the US Attorney’s Office.”
He added that Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.
Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt New York on 57th Street in New York about 8.30pm Monday. He was expected to be held overnight and arraigned in court on Tuesday morning.
The federal investigation into Combs was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on 25 March.
The day after the raids his defence attorney Aaron Dyer called them “a gross use of military-level force”, said the allegations were “meritless” and that Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name.
Since then, his career has been plagued with sexual assault lawsuits and a federal investigation.
Combs was once one of the most successful rappers in the US, with a string of hit tracks including US No 1 singles Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down, I’ll Be Missing You and Shake Ya Tailfeather. His label Bad Boy Records was home to popular artists including Notorious BIG and Mase, and he had success with other business ventures such as clothing brand Sean John and vodka brand Cîroc.
But his reputation has been damaged since the allegations, which he has denied.
In recent weeks New York mayor Eric Adams has demanded Combs return the ceremonial key to the city he was awarded in September 2023, while Howard University rescinded Combs’ honorary degree, discontinued a scholarship programme in his name and returned a $1m donation.
Last November, his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, became the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse.
In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Her suit also alleged Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “requiring her to engage in forced sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and by engaging in “harboring and transportation of Plaintiff for purposes of sex induced by force, fraud, or coercion”. It also said he compelled her to help him traffic male sex workers Combs would force Cassie to have sex with while he filmed.
The suit was settled the following day, but its reverberations would last far longer. Three more women quickly came forward with claims against Combs, including sex trafficking and gang-rape.
In December, Combs posted on social media, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
“Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” he added.
In May, CNN aired a leaked video of him punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway.
Combs posted a video apologizing, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.” Cassie’s lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months.
In June, the prestigious Howard University said it had cut ties with Combs and revoked all honors and privileges associated with an honorary degree it had awarded him. Combs returned the ceremonial “Key to the City of New York” after a request by mayor Eric Adams.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and put pressure on him to have sex with them. Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
Combs and his attorneys denied the allegations.
While authorities did not publicly say the lawsuits set off the criminal investigation, Dyer said when the warrants were served the case was based on “meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits”.
Last week a man who accused Combs of sexually assaulting him won a $100m judgment after the music producer failed to contest the allegations in a civil courthouse in Michigan.
An attorney for Combs issued a statement denying his client knew the plaintiff, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith. The lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Cardello-Smith had committed “fraud on the court” and that Combs “looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed”.
