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Join Telegram ChannelAuthorities have charged Sean “Diddy” Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and more following a months-long investigation into the rapper.
Combs was arrested Monday by federal agents on a sealed indictment, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York confirmed. The rapper was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation for the purpose of prostitution in the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
“His spirits are high. He’s confident,” Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said in court Tuesday morning. “He’s facing this head on, as he’s faced every challenge in his life. And he’s not guilty. He’s innocent of these charges. He’s going to plead not guilty, obviously. He’s going to fight with all of his energy and all of his strength, and with the full confidence of his attorneys. And I expect a long battle with a good outcome for Mr. Combs.”
“I'm going to fight like crazy to get him released, and he has to be,” Agnifilo said. “With everything he's done and coming here voluntarily.”
SEAN “DIDDY” COMBS ARRESTED FOLLOWING RAIDS, HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATION
VIDEO: SEAN “DIDDY” COMBS’S LAWYER SPEAKS OUT AHEAD OF INTRIGGING
Authorities alleged Diddy ran a criminal enterprise through his companies, including Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Enterprises and Combs Global, among others. He used “violence, use of firearms, threats of violence, coercion, and verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse” to satisfy his sexual desires, according to the unsealed indictment obtained by Fox News Digital.
Combs and his employees “intimidated, threatened, and lured female victims into Combs' orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs then allegedly used force, threats of force, and coercion to induce the victims to engage in prolonged sexual acts with male sex workers whom Combs referred to, among other things, as 'Freak Offs.'”
The “Finna Get Loose” singer allegedly transported male sex workers across national and international borders for the purpose of having non-consensual sex with his female victims.
Combs subjected his victims to “physical, emotional and verbal abuse” in order to force them to participate in “freak offs,” according to court documents. Diddy also provided drugs to sex workers and female victims to facilitate sexual encounters.
“The Freak Offs were elaborate and produced sexual performances that Combs organized, directed, masturbated during and often electronically recorded,” authorities said. Diddy often provided intravenous fluids to his victims after the “Freak Offs” to help them recover from physical exertion and drug use, according to the indictment.
Sean Combs was arrested in New York on Monday. (Getty Images)
Diddy allegedly maintained control over his victims by promising or threatening to take away career opportunities, denying them financial support, controlling their housing, and more.
“Combs also used the sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings he made during the Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the victims’ continued compliance and silence,” the indictment says.
During raids on Diddy's home in March, authorities seized “suspect supplies” as well as three AR-15s with illegible serial numbers, according to court documents.
King Combs, son of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrives at U.S. Court in Manhattan after the rapper was arrested by federal agents. (REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado)
FOX NATION Special Explores Sean “Diddy” Combs Investigation and Raids
The “I'll Be Missing You” singer was arrested in the lobby of a New York hotel, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
Combs' legal team called the charges “unfair prosecutions” in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and accomplished philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, loving his children and working to improve the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Marc Agnifilo said in a statement.
“It must be acknowledged that Mr. Combs has been very cooperative in this investigation and voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges,” the statement continued. “Please reserve judgment until you have all the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide and he is eager to clear his name in court.”
Sean Combs' Los Angeles home was raided by Homeland Security agents in March. (Getty Images)
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Homeland Security agents raided Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a federal human trafficking investigation on March 25, authorities confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time.
Combs faces a mountain of legal claims after multiple women accused him of sexual assault starting in November 2023. Cassie, legally known as Casandra Ventura, claimed to have endured “over a decade” of “violent behavior and disturbed demands” from Combs in a lawsuit. Combs and his ex-girlfriend settled the case a day later outside of court.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Cassie last split in 2018 after years of an on-again, off-again relationship. (Getty Images)
Three other women filed claims just before New York state's adult survivors law expired in December.
Combs was also sued by the music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones In February, Jones accused the rapper of forcing him to perform sex acts with prostitutes in his lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
He faces a handful of additional sexual abuse charges, all of which he has denied.
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Sean “Diddy” Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided in March as part of a human trafficking investigation. (Jordan Strauss)
Due to his legal troubles, Combs resigned as president of his cable network Revolt in November.
“This decision helps ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission of creating culturally meaningful content and amplifying the voices of all Black people across this country and the African diaspora,” the network said in a statement.
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Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.