Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs slapped with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy as bombshell charges unsealed in NYC court
Embattled rapper and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with sex trafficking and racketeering charges Tuesday as part of a probe that accuses him of abusing women and forcing them to engage in so-called “Freak Off” performances to fulfill his sick “sexual desires,” federal prosecutors said.
The bombshell indictment against Combs, 54, was unsealed after he was arrested at the Park Hyatt New York in Manhattan late Monday — some six months after the feds raided his mansions in Los Angeles and Miami as part of the investigation into the alleged decades-long abuse.
The fallen music mogul was expected to be hauled before a Manhattan federal judge later Tuesday on the three federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The 14-page indictment paints Combs as the kingpin of a criminal enterprise that allowed him to allegedly abuse, threaten and coerce women for years “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
“To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled — creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” the complaint says.
As part of his sordid empire of sexual crimes, Combs would allegedly lure female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, often days-long, sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs,” the indictment charges.
The women, who were often roped in under the pretense of a romantic relationship, would then be plied with drugs in a bid to keep them “obedient and compliant,” according to the court papers.
Combs would watch and masturbate during the “elaborate and produced sex performances,” which he would allegedly film to use as collateral against his victims.
The “regularly” occurring encounters could last for days and Combs and the victims would often receive IV fluids in the aftermath “to recover from the physical exertion and drug use,” the feds allege.
Here's what we know about the allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs
- Combs was arrested Monday evening at a New York hotel.
- Prosecutors allege Combs participated in sex trafficking and “freak off” parties.
- Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security in March amid a possible ongoing sex-trafficking investigation.
- Authorities targeted the rapper’s homes to seize phones and computers, sources told The Post.
- In November 2023, the rapper was accused of drugging, filming and sexually assaulting a woman on a date in 1991.
His employees allegedly helped facilitate the “Freak Offs” by arranging travel, booking hotel rooms where they’d take place and then stock the rooms with supplies — including drugs, baby oil, lubricants and extra linen.
Some of those so-called “freak off” supplies were seized by the feds during the raids on his home, the complaint says.
The sick details emerged after Combs was hit with a flurry of lawsuits over the past year by people who allege he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse during the height of his fame as a producer in the 1990s and 2000s.
He was first accused of a years-long pattern of domestic and sexual violence — and even trafficking — against his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, in a federal lawsuit she filed against him last November.
While the case was quickly settled out of court, a wave of other lawsuits alleging sex assault followed — all of which he’s strongly denied.
Many of the allegations of abuse in Tuesday’s bombshell indictment mirror those in the civil suits filed against Combs in recent months — including from his ex-girlfriend.
The indictment, though, unveiled new depraved details of Combs’ alleged racketeering ring – including how he enlisted his personal assistants, security and household staffers to help him hide his alleged violence.
Prosecutors painted Combs as a violent man who choked, hit, kicked and dragged his victims by the hair – causing injuries that could sometimes take weeks to heal.
His associates and employees – dubbed the “Combs Enterprise” – sometimes witnessed the attacks and would force the victims into hiding for days, or track down those who did leave, to keep their injuries hidden, the filing states.
When the threat of criminal charges loomed, the music star and his so-called enterprise offered the alleged victims bribes to stay quiet, according to the indictment.
While the indictment doesn’t specifically name Ventura, it does reference a March 2016 incident in which video from a California hotel showed him grabbing, shoving and kicking his then-girlfriend.
The court papers allege Combs tried to bribe a hotel security staffer to stay quiet about the incident.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ventura, declined to comment Tuesday in the wake of Combs’ indictment.
Meanwhile, his attorney said outside court that Combs would plead not guilty to the charges — and that he would “fight like hell” to try to get his client released from custody.
“His spirits are good. He’s confident,” Marc Agnifilo said of Combs after the indictment came down.
Combs has dodged legal trouble before.
He was acquitted on weapons charges in Manhattan Supreme court over a 1999 shooting at a Big Apple night club that injured three people.
Combs, then 31, was accused of firing a shot into the ceiling of the Midtown dance club, then trying to bribe his chauffeur to take the rap for a second gun found in the getaway car he shared with his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez.
