A wall of secrets could crumble as federal authorities arrest accomplices in alleged sex crimes committed by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

By Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times

Sean “Diddy” Combs was the only suspect charged this week in a massive sex trafficking and racketeering investigation.

But federal prosecutors have made it clear they do not believe he is the only one responsible.

The 14-page indictment against Combs accuses the Bad Boy Entertainment founder of luring female victims and using force, coercion and drugs to coerce women into participating in “freak offs” — elaborate sexual performances that were often recorded and sometimes lasted for days.

The case involves an extensive network, a complex plan in which several people were not only aware but also involved in recruiting victims, organizing the panic attacks, cleaning up and covering up the tracks so that the police would not get involved.

“Combs did not do this all by himself,” said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in announcing the charges. “He used his company and employees of his company and other close associates to get what he wanted.”

Diddy performs at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire during a special one night only event at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on November 7, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Sean Diddy Combs)

Williams would not comment on whether more charges would be filed, but said the investigation is “active and ongoing.”

“I can’t take anything off the table,” he said. “Anything is possible.”

Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including federal racketeering, a charge most often seen against organized crime figures. John Gotti, James “Whitey” Bulger and associates of the Mexican Mafia and South L.A.’s Crips have faced the charge in the past.

Authorities said Combs’ power and money allowed him to evade public scrutiny for years. But some legal experts said the charges could change that.

Matt Murphy, a former prosecutor who handled sex crimes cases in Orange County for four years, said the wall of secrecy may be crumbling.

The racketeering charge means anyone involved in the enterprise could face criminal charges, Murphy said, explaining: “There are people who witnessed things who now have to further their own criminal interests.”

That could put pressure on employees to testify against Combs, he said.

“We don’t know that yet, but I’m sure there are insiders in his organization who will be criminally liable and will testify as federal witnesses,” Murphy said.

Homeland Security Investigation agents are seen at the entrance to the home of American producer and musician Sean “Diddy” Combs on Star Island in Miami Beach on March 25, 2024. Homes of Sean “Diddy” Combs were searched by federal agents, media reported on March 25, with the American hip-hop mogul at the center of lawsuits over sex trafficking and sexual abuse. (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

According to court records, prosecutors allege they obtained information from “dozens of victims and witnesses” — as well as communications with sex workers and travel reports and recordings, including “dozens of video recordings made by (Combs) of Freak Offs with victims.”

“This indictment only names Combs, although it describes many other participants,” said Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor. “Then you ask the question, ‘Are all of these participants going to get a deal (from prosecutors), or are some of them going to join the defendant?'”

Federal prosecutors say Combs used his multibillion-dollar music and business empire to carry out the alleged crimes. According to the indictment, security, housekeepers, personal assistants and other employees participated — and helped conceal the criminal activity by using violence, intimidation, manipulation, bribery and threats.

The indictment alleges that prior to the alleged freak-offs, employees and coworkers were tasked with luring female victims to participate, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship.”

Others were ordered to book hotel rooms and stock them with what prosecutors called “Freak Off supplies,” such as medications, baby oil, lubricant, lights and extra linens.

Police and members of the media gather outside the home of American producer and musician Sean “Diddy” Combs in Los Angeles on March 25, 2024. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Combs’ associates and acquaintances were also instructed to arrange the victims’ travel, hire sex workers, provide Combs with large sums of money to pay the sex workers, and restock the rooms when Combs requested it.

In the days that followed, the complaint said, staff would provide Combs and others with IV fluids to help them recover. Others were assigned to clean the rooms “to minimize damage to the room.”

According to the indictment, Combs and others also used drugs, threats to cut off financial support, videos of the freak-offs and their influence in the entertainment industry to prevent victims from participating and publicizing their actions.

“Victims believed they could not refuse (Combs’) demands without jeopardizing their financial or job security or without suffering repercussions in the form of physical or emotional abuse,” the lawsuit said.

According to the indictment, employees of Combs’ companies helped hide evidence and monitored the victims to ensure they did not leave Combs’ hotels or homes.

The complaint also cites a 2016 video, obtained by CNN in May, showing Combs kicking and dragging his then-girlfriend Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura.

After a member of hotel security intervened, Combs allegedly attempted to bribe the guests, the complaint states.

Prosecutors allege that Combs and his associates also approached women after they learned of a possible investigation and pressured them into telling false stories, as well as bribing or threatening them.

Homeland Security Investigation agents are seen at the entrance of the home of American producer and musician Sean “Diddy” Combs on Star Island in Miami Beach on March 25, 2024. (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

In one case, prosecutors said Combs called a victim and asked about her “friendship,” then tried to convince her she had participated in the acts willingly.

Mary Graw Lary, a professor at the Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., and former director of the National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse, compared Combs’ charges to sex crimes and allegations against celebrities such as Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly.

In many of these cases, although there were many people with knowledge of the events, it still took years for the allegations to come to light.

“The number of people who are aware of and facilitating this kind of sexual exploitation of vulnerable women is enormous, enormous, enormous, and yet no one is speaking out about it, and that is disturbing,” Graw Lary said.

Wealth is one of the tools used to keep alleged illegal activities secret, but Graw Lary says influence, power and the individual’s public image also play a role.

She pointed to the 2002 child pornography charges that were initially brought against Kelly, and the significant public opposition prosecutors faced at the time. Kelly was acquitted of those charges in 2008.

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It was only years later, after allegations surfaced in articles by journalist Jim DeRogatis, that new investigations were launched and Kelly was convicted in 2022 on multiple charges, namely human trafficking and racketeering.

“It’s a secret from the general public because power is part of the care,” she said. “As a pillar of society, a source of power, that either prevents this from getting to the general public, or creates resistance that the public would accept it.”

Combs’ attorneys vowed to fight the charges.

“He’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent,” Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said outside court this week. “He came to New York to prove his innocence. He’s not afraid; he’s not afraid of the charges. There’s nothing the government said in their presentation today that changes anybody’s mind about anything.”

Combs was held without bail. His attorneys are appealing the decision, saying in a letter to the judge that the music star has taken several steps to prove he is not a flight risk, including traveling to New York with the intention of surrendering to authorities and handing over his passport to his attorneys.

A judge on Wednesday ordered Combs to remain in custody until his trial.

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