Conclusions from the racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking indictment against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

CNN

By Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — The first paragraph of the three-count federal indictment against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs lays out in a sweeping summary the serious and wide-ranging allegations against him.

“Sean Combs, aka ‘Puff Daddy,’ aka ‘P. Diddy,’ aka ‘Diddy,’ aka ‘P.D.,’ aka ‘Love,’ the defendant, abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” the indictment states. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multifaceted business empire he led and controlled — and created 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 indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York charges Combs with three counts: racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty to the charges in court Tuesday afternoon. He was denied bail and will remain in federal custody, a federal judge ruled.

Judge Robyn Tarnofsky told Combs she could find no conditions to assure her he would appear in court. “My concern is that this is a crime that is happening behind closed doors, even with pretrial services monitoring,” Tarnofsky said.

Specifically, the indictment accuses Combs of operating a “criminal enterprise” with other associates and employees, alleges he organized drug-related “Freak Offs” with victims and sex workers, lists instances of physical and sexual abuse, and details what law enforcement found during raids on his homes in March.

Below are some of the key points from the indictment.

Combs accused of directing criminal enterprise

The first count in the indictment is conspiracy to commit racketeering, a federal crime used to target organized criminal syndicates known as an “enterprise,” such as the Mafia.

In Combs’ case, the “Combs Enterprise” consisted of Combs, the leader; business units, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment; and employees and partners, including security personnel, housekeepers, personal assistants and high-level supervisors, the indictment said.

“Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, among other things, sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” the indictment said.

The indictment lists eight purposes for Combs Enterprise, including the aforementioned goal of operating a media, entertainment and lifestyle company.

Other goals, however, were to maintain Combs’ power through violence, threats and abuse, to fulfill his personal sexual desires by exploiting women and using sex workers, to enable him and others to commit sexual violence and sex trafficking, and to protect the enterprise from law enforcement through “intimidation, manipulation, bribery and threats of retaliation” against witnesses.

Victims and sex workers participated in ‘Freak Offs’

The indictment alleges that Combs organized what he called “Freak Offs,” or elaborate sexual performances in which he drugged victims and forced them to perform prolonged sexual acts with male sex workers.

These “freak offs” occurred regularly and sometimes lasted several days, the complaint said.

The events were organized by Combs and facilitated by his staff and employees, the indictment said. The employees arranged travel for victims and sex workers, booked hotel rooms, stocked them with drugs, baby oil, lubricant and extra linens, cleaned the rooms afterward and gave Combs large sums of money to pay the sex workers, the indictment said.

Diddy also kept videos he made of his victims performing sexual acts, sometimes without their knowledge, the indictment alleges. He allegedly used those videos to exert control over his victims.

“Combs also used the sensitive, embarrassing and incriminating recordings he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the victims’ continued compliance and silence,” the complaint said.

Charge notes 2016 video of Combs beating woman

The lawsuit accuses Combs of years of abuse and specifically points to surveillance video obtained exclusively by CNN that shows him beating then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, the artist known as Cassie, at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.

Combs “engaged in a persistent and widespread pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals,” the complaint states. “This abuse was at times verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual.”

The physical abuse, in particular, was “recurring and well-known,” the complaint said, and occurred on “numerous” occasions beginning in approximately 2009 and continuing for years.

The indictment highlights a single incident at a Los Angeles hotel in or around March 2016, “captured on video and later made public,” in which Combs is seen kicking, dragging and throwing a vase at a woman. When a hotel employee intervened, Combs attempted to bribe them into silence, the indictment adds.

The details match CNN’s May reporting of the video that showed Combs punching and kicking Ventura, who is not named in the complaint.

In November 2023, Ventura sued Combs, accusing him of rape and years of abuse. In response, a lawyer for Combs said he “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.” They settled the lawsuit a day after it was filed.

The explosive surveillance footage contradicts earlier comments by Combs in which he denied any wrongdoing. Days later, he posted a video on Instagram apologizing.

“My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said.

Police Seize Guns, ‘Freak Off’ Supplies in Raids on Combs’ Homes

According to the indictment, police seized guns, ammunition, drugs and a large quantity of baby oil and grease during searches of Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March.

According to the criminal complaint, police seized “various Freak Off paraphernalia” from his home, including drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.

Additionally, the indictment alleges that Combs’ associates sometimes carried firearms and accuses Combs of brandishing firearms “to intimidate and threaten others.” Police seized firearms and ammunition during their searches of his home, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers and a drum magazine, the indictment says.

Number of victims is unclear

The indictment lists crimes against a number of victims, including women and commercial sex workers, but does not specify how many.

The letter from the DA’s office requesting Combs be held for trial states that “dozens of victims and witnesses have provided detailed, credible and corroborated information against the defendant,” counting all victims and witnesses together. In another part of the letter, the DA’s office states that it has “conducted interviews with over 50 victims and witnesses” and that number is expected to increase.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams was vague when asked to clarify the number of victims during a news conference on Tuesday. “We say ‘multiple’ intentionally,” he said.

Meanwhile, the sex trafficking charge is based on allegations against a single, unnamed “Victim-I” from approximately 2009 to approximately 2018, the indictment says.

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CNN’s Kara Scannell, Elizabeth Wagmeister and Nicki Brown contributed to this report.