DIDDY SHOCK
Disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested in New York hotel after sex trafficking raids & link to Tupac murder trial
The rapper's lawyer said they were "disappointed" by the arrest
SEAN "Diddy" Combs has been arrested on federal charges months after agents raided his home in an ongoing sex trafficking probe.
The rapper, 54, flew to New York City and cooperated with officials as he was arrested in a hotel lobby.
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His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the rapper had been cooperating with the investigation and had voluntarily relocated to New York in anticipation of the charges.
The star's lawyer said their team is "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney's Office."
US attorney in Manhattan, Damian Williams confirmed the music mogul's arrest.
Details of the charges have not been announced by prosecutors.
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"We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time," Williams said.
Meanwhile, a source told The U.S. Sun that federal investigators have been collaborating with the Clark County District Attorney’s (DA's) office in Las Vegas over their probe of Tupac’s shooting in 1996.
The source said officials have been “collating information” by Vegas prosecutors about connections to criminal activity, gangland activities, and individuals who wanted Pac dead.
The star's arrest comes months after federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of an ongoing sex trafficking probe.
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Combs is currently facing a string of civil lawsuits over allegations of sexual assault.
Diddy ordered to pay $100m in sexual assault case after troubled rapper ignored lawsuit
Earlier this month Combs was ordered to pay $100m in a sexual assault case after he failed to file an answer to the complaint brought by inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith.
The lawsuit was filed by inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith who claimed Diddy drugged and sexually assaulted him in 1997.
Previously he was accused of grooming and sex trafficking by former porn star Adria English.
Adria claimed the music mogul threatened to blacklist her if she didn't have sex with guests at his lavish parties.
The rapper denied the allegations.
Recent lawsuits against Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Diddy was hit with a wave of lawsuits in late 2023 and 2024 with allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault. He has denied all claims against him.
- November 17, 2023: Cassie, Diddy's longtime girlfriend, sued him, claiming she endured “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” until their relationship ended in 2018. Diddy and Cassie settled the suit the day after it was filed.
- Diddy was hit with two more lawsuits a week after he settled with Cassie.
- November 23, 2023: Joi Dickerson accused Diddy of drugging and raping her and filming the attack when she was a 19-year-old college student in January 1991.
- November 24, 2023: A second unidentified accuser in a separate lawsuit claimed that Diddy and another man sexually assaulted her and a friend in 1990 or 1991, then showed up at her apartment and beat her several days later.
- December 6, 2023: Diddy was sued again by an unidentified woman who claimed he and two men gang-raped her in 2003 when she was 17 years old.
- February 26, 2024: Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones, who helped produce Diddy's most recent album, claimed that the mogul sexually harassed, drugged, and threatened him from September 2022 to November 2023 as they worked together.
- May 21, 2024: Model Crystal McKinney accused Combs of sexually assaulting her after meeting at a Men's Fashion Week event in New York City in 2003. McKinney claims she was drinking alcohol and smoking weed with Combs and several of his colleagues when she took a hit off a joint that she claims was laced with another drug. McKinney claims she felt woozy, and Combs ordered her to the bathroom, where he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him.
- May 23, 2024: April Lampros, 51, claimed in her lawsuit that she met Sean Combs in New York City in 1994 while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. Combs is accused of drugging and raping Lampros in a hotel after promising to help mentor her in the fashion industry.
- July 3, 2024: Adria English, an ex-porn star who went by Omunique, accused Diddy of grooming her into sex trafficking in the early 2000s, according to .
LEGAL TROUBLE
The music star has been in the spotlight in the past year ever since he settled a lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in November 2023.
In the suit, Ventura said that Combs was physically and sexually abusive, claiming at one point he allegedly filmed her while she had nonconsensual sex with prostitutes.
Combs denied the allegations and the two settled out of court, but later that month, disturbing hallway footage emerged showing him kicking and beating his then-partner.
In the video, a distraught Ventura was seen leaving their hotel room while Combs followed quickly behind in nothing but a towel.
Combs then knocked her to the ground and then stomped her body before throwing a vase at her.
After the video was published, Combs publicly apologized to his ex.
In a video, the rapper said, "I was f***ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.
"I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it and I'm disgusted now."
'RECEIVING JUSTICE'
After Ventura filed her suit, a raft of accusers came forward.
On November 23, 2023, Joi Dickerson-Neal sued Combs under the New York Adult Survivors Act and claimed he had raped her.
One day after this, an unidentified accuser filed a separate suit that alleged she was raped by Combs and another man in 1990.
In February 2024, male accuser Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones, who worked as a producer on Combs' most recent album, sued the rapper for allegedly sexually harassing and drugging him in 2022.
Combs' son Christian is also in legal hot water as former yacht employee Grace O'Marcaigh claims in a suit filed in April that he sexually assaulted her.
In a statement exclusively given to The U.S. Sun, O'Marcaigh's attorney Rodney Diggs described Combs' arrest as "long-awaited."
"We also anticipate more victims coming forward," the attorney said.
"We knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear and it was only a matter of time.
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"This is an important step towards justice for all of Mr. Combs' victims including my clients.
"Justice will prevail."
Grace O'Marcaigh's attorney's full statement to The U.S. Sun
Former yacht employee O'Marcaigh filed a lawsuit against Combs' son Christian alleging he sexually assaulted her
“The long-awaited arrest of Sean Combs is the first step for our clients receiving justice.
We leave the criminal aspect of this case in the hands of the people and justice system.
As for the civil cases, we await our time for the facts to reveal themselves and seek the justice our clients deserve.
We also anticipate more victims coming forward. We knew this was coming.
The evidence is very clear and it was only a matter of time.
This is an important step towards justice for all of Mr. Combs’ victims including my clients. Justice will prevail.”
Attorney Rodney Diggs, O'Marcaigh's lawyer
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