Here are all the major allegations against him

Top line

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held in the same prison as disgraced former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried after being charged with sex trafficking, according to multiple media outlets. The music mogul had previously faced a series of civil sexual assault lawsuits, which he later dismissed.

Combs has denied any wrongdoing in all lawsuits and has not been criminally charged. (Photo by … (+) (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

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Timeline

24 SeptemberAccording to the New York Times, Combs is sharing a unit with Bankman-Fried at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, while the former crypto mogul serves a 25-year sentence for conspiracy, fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme that lost billions of dollars to former FTX customers, lenders and investors.

17 SeptemberA federal court in Manhattan has charged Combs with organized crime, sex trafficking and transportation for the purpose of prostitution. Combs is accused of “abusing, threatening and coercing women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”

16 SeptemberCombs is arrested in Manhattan after a grand jury indicts him.

29 MayFederal investigators may soon bring Combs’ accusers before a grand jury, and most of the plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits against the rapper have already been interviewed by investigators, sources told CNN. This could indicate that prosecutors are looking to press charges against someone, even though no charges have been filed yet.

24 MayIn a lawsuit filed in New York on Thursday, plaintiff April Lampros accuses Combs of sexual assault in connection with four “terrifying sexual encounters” between 1995 and 2001, including three rapes and one instance in which Combs forced her to take ecstasy.

May 22Former model Crystal McKinney filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court accusing the rapper of drugging and sexually assaulting her in his New York recording studio in 2003.

19 MayCassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, spoke out after CNN obtained a 2016 video of Combs attacking her in a hotel hallway. On Instagram Thursday morning, she said the domestic violence had “broken” her and that she would have to “recover from her past over and over again” – Combs later apologized for the video.

26 FebruaryIn February, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sued the rapper in New York, claiming he was “subjected to unwanted advances at the direction of Diddy’s associates” and coerced into relationships with sex workers he hired. In a series of widely publicized allegations, Jones claims in the suit that Combs regularly hosted “sex trafficking parties” involving underage women and illegal drugs, and suggests that record label executives who looked the other way benefited financially from access to celebrities and dignitaries such as Britain’s royal prince Harry, who is neither accused of wrongdoing nor attended any parties himself (Combs’ lawyer tells the Los Angeles Times the suit involves “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction”).

6 DecemberIn December, Combs was again charged with sexual assault. The rapper was accused of drugging the unnamed woman and participating in a gang rape in 2003. The plaintiff was 17 years old at the time.

23 NovemberA woman named Joie Dickerson-Neal claims in a lawsuit that Combs drugged and sexually abused her while she was a college student in 1991 and secretly filmed the abuse.

23 NovemberAn anonymous plaintiff accuses Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of raping her and a friend in 1990 or 1991 after they met at an MCA Records event in New York – a lawsuit that, like Dickerson-Neal’s suit, was filed just before the expiration of a New York law temporarily allowing lawsuits over older assault allegations that would normally be time-barred.

17 NovemberVentura’s $30 million lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount a day after it was filed. Ventura told CNN she chose to “resolve the matter amicably.” Combs’ attorney, however, says the settlement is “in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and does not change his denial of the allegations.

16 NovemberCassie Ventura is suing Combs, claiming he raped her in 2018 and plunged her into an abusive relationship for years that included physical abuse and his assertion of “complete control” over her personal and professional life.

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Contra

Combs has denied all the allegations against him. His lawyers described some of the lawsuits and the allegations contained therein to Forbes as money-making schemes, “baseless” or “disgusting.”

What you should pay attention to

An upcoming docuseries. Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson said Tuesday that Netflix had won a “bidding war” for a docuseries about the series of recent abuse, rape and sex trafficking allegations against Combs. Jackson confirmed in a tweet Tuesday that the streamer had bought the G-Unit Film & Television series about Combs, which he first hinted at in December, adding, “As more and more victims come forward, I’m going to need more episodes.” Proceeds from the film will go to victims of sexual assault, Jackson said in November.

tangent

On Sunday, Combs posted an apology on Instagram for his “disgusting” behavior in the surveillance video that shows him grabbing, dragging and kicking Cassie in 2016. The video appeared to confirm many of the claims Ventura made in her November lawsuit, which a lawyer for Combs called “offensive and outrageous” at the time. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office called the video “extremely disturbing” and “difficult to stomach” but said no charges would be filed because the apparent assault occurred after the statute of limitations in California. In his apology video, Combs said the events occurred during “one of the darkest times” of his life and said he was “truly sorry” for his behavior. Meredith Firetog, one of Ventura’s attorneys, later criticized the apology in a statement as insincere, saying it was “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.” In her lawsuit filed in November, Ventura accused Combs of paying the hotel where the surveillance video was shot $50,000 for the footage.

Surprising fact

Combs’ former personal chef Cindy Rueda accused Combs in a now-settled 2017 sexual harassment lawsuit, alleging that she made her prepare and serve food to the rapper and his guests while they were engaging in sexual activity or immediately afterward.

Important background

The allegations in the lawsuits against Combs date back to the 1990s, when he founded his own record label, Bad Boy Records, which Rolling Stone called “one of the most influential hip-hop labels of all time.” The label has signed major artists such as The Notorious BIG, Janelle Monáe and Cassie and released several of Combs’ own albums, including “Press Play” and “Last Train To Paris.” Combs sold a 50 percent stake in Bad Boy to Warner Music Group in 2005 in a reported $30 million deal. Combs has built a fortune through Bad Boy Records, several liquor brands, a fashion label and other ventures. Earlier this year, he sold his stake in the DeLeón tequila brand for $200 million. He was ranked 14th on Forbes’ 2022 list of highest-paid entertainers, earning an estimated $90 million that year. One of the rapper’s searched homes is in Holmby Hills, an affluent neighborhood where Combs bought a $40 million home ten years ago.

More information

Federal authorities search Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes in LA and Miami (Forbes)

Sean Combs accused in latest lawsuit of sexually abusing a 17-year-old (Forbes)

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs charged with rape and sexual assault in two new separate trials (Forbes)

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs accused of rape and sex trafficking by singer and ex-partner (Forbes)