Sean “Daddy” Combs The arrest was made Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York City said.
A deputy said Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt Hotel on West 57th Street. He was blindsided by the concerns, according to a person familiar with the matter, who added that he had been staying at the hotel for weeks.
Federal agents arrested Combs late Monday on a sealed indictment filed in the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams confirmed in a statement.
“We expect to have the indictment unsealed in the morning and will have more information to say at that time,” Williams said.
Combs’ attorney, Mark Agnifilo, expressed disappointment in a statement. He said Combs, 54, has been cooperating with the investigation and “voluntarily moved to New York last week in anticipation of facing these charges.”
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has built an empire over the past 30 years,” the statement read. Loved his children and was committed to uplifting the black community. “He was an imperfect man, but he was not a criminal. “
The statement added: “These were the actions of an innocent man who had nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
It’s unclear what charges the rapper-turned-music mogul Combs was arrested on.
Coombs faces wave of litigation — Yiru most recent week — has accused him of sexual assault and misconduct since November, when ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura sued him in federal court, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse.
Ventura, known by her stage name Cassie, was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records. The two settled the lawsuit the day after it was filed, but terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Combs’ attorney said the settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. He has previously denied the accusations.
Several others have since filed lawsuits, including Dawn RichardShe claimed that he molested and threatened her while he was hiring her from 2005 to 2012, and that she witnessed him brutally beat Ventura. Combs strongly denies the allegations in the lawsuit, calling them “disgusting accusations” from those seeking a “quick payday.”
But in May, he was criticized after CNN released hotel video from 2016 of Combs punching and throwing Ventura to the ground in a Los Angeles hallway. Apologize in video on Instagram In the letter, he said his behavior was “inexcusable” and said he had sought treatment. The video was later removed from his page.
Richard, who was a member of the girl group Danity Kane and later of Diddy — Dirty Money, which Combs formed on the MTV reality show “Making the Band,” sued Combs last week.
An attorney said Combs is “shocked and disappointed” by Richard’s lawsuit, which, like Ventura’s, paints him as a controlling and violent man.
Ventura’s lawsuit includes sex trafficking charges. She claimed he regularly beat her and forced her to have sex with male prostitutes — drug-fuelled encounters that Combs described as “weird” and were sometimes recorded — when she tried to end their relationship in 2018 While there, he forced her to have sex with a male prostitute.
Richard said in the lawsuit that she attended a “drug-fueled party” where guests were asked to hand over their cellphones. She also said she witnessed Combs and his client sexually assault an intoxicated underage girl.
In March, federal investigators searched Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles.
A source familiar with the investigation told NBC News in March that investigators interviewed several people regarding allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and soliciting and distributing illegal narcotics and firearms.
According to NBC News, the search warrant for Combs’ property came from the Southern District of New York.
Combs, who also goes by the names Puffy, Puff Daddy and Love, founded Bad Boy in the early 1990s. He is considered a trailblazer in hip-hop, fashion and media, creating the Sean John clothing line and launching the Revolt television channel, and Xia Tian sold his shares.
Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who produced Combs’ latest album, was accused in a statement February lawsuit Coombs engaged in unwanted sexual contact, forced him to hire prostitutes and forced him to perform sexual acts with them. Jones said he lived and traveled with Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, during which time he recorded numerous conversations with Combs, his employees and others “engaging in serious illegal activity.” hours of video and audio.
His attorneys, Rodney S. Diggs and Tyrone Blackburn, who also represent Coombs’ other accusers, said Coombs’s “long-awaited arrest” was “justice for all of Mr. Coombs’ victims.” An important step forward for justice.”
“We leave the criminal portion of this case to the people and the judicial system,” they said Monday night. “As for the civil case, we wait for the facts to emerge and seek the justice our clients deserve. We also anticipate additional victims.” The evidence is very clear that it’s just a matter of time.”
After video of Combs attacking Ventura restaurant released Howard University cuts ties with him. In June, the school revoked the honorary degree awarded to him and dissolved the scholarship program in his name. That same month, Combs complied with New York Mayor Eric Adams’ request and returned his city key.
This month, Combs listed his Los Angeles home that was raided in March for $61.5 million.
