Sean “Diddy” Combs taken into federal custody following raids and human trafficking investigation

NEW YORK – Hip-hop legend Sean “Diddy” Combs was taken into federal custody in New York City on Monday evening.

“This evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,” said Nicholas Biase, chief of public affairs for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. “We expect to unseal the indictment this morning and will have more to say then.”

“We are disappointed by the U.S. Attorney’s decision to pursue what we believe is an unjustified prosecution of Mr. Combs,” Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ attorney, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, a self-made entrepreneur, a loving family man and a proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and advocating for the advancement of the black community. He is not a perfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has cooperated fully with this investigation and voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve judgment until you know all of the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

In March, Diddy’s homes in LA and Miami were raided by federal authorities following numerous allegations of sexual assault.

Combs, 51, still faces possible legal disputes in a handful of civil lawsuits and one criminal lawsuit.

In November, Cassie, known as Casandra Ventura, Defendant Combs He raped her in her own home, endured “over a decade” of his “violent behavior and disturbed demands” and forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched and filmed.

One day after she filed the lawsuit, Combs and Cassie reached an amicable agreement, and she the lawsuit droppedIn May, a clip received exclusive by CNN from 2016 shows the rapper walking down a hotel hallway wearing a towel. Moments earlier, Cassie (Cassandra Ventura) had walked down the same hallway to the elevators with bags in her hand.

When Combs reached the elevators, he grabbed Cassie by the neck and threw her to the ground. He then kicked her twice, took her bags and dragged her down the hallway before returning to the same area to use a phone.

Days later, Combs apologized on Instagram. “It’s so hard to reflect on the darkest times in life, but sometimes you have to. I was devastated – I hit rock bottom – but I’m not making excuses,” Combs said. “My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”

Combs admitted, “I was disgusted when I did it. I still am today. I sought professional help. I went to therapy, to rehab. I had to ask God for his grace and mercy. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to being a better person every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

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Shortly before the Adult Survivors Act expired in New York in December, three more women came forward with complaints. Joi Dickerson-Neal and Liza Gardner each accused the “It’s All About the Benjamins” musician of sexual assault in their own lawsuits.

Jane Doe alleged she was sexually abused by Combs and the president of his entertainment company, Harve Pierre, as well as a third person when she was 17, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

Diddy denied the claim, saying in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital: “Enough is enough. For the past few weeks, I have sat in silence and watched as people have attempted to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.”

A music producer, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who sued Sexual Assault Combs In February, actor Cuba Gooding Jr. also joined his lawsuit. Jones, who produced “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” claimed that he had lived with Combs for an extended period of time and accused the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer of sexual harassment and coercing him to engage in sexual acts with prostitutes.

Combs’ legal team dismissed Jones’ allegations as “complete lies” and claimed the producer was “nothing more than a liar who shamelessly filed a $30 million lawsuit to collect undeserved money,” Combs’ attorney Shawn Holley told Fox News Digital at the time.

In May, two more accusers came forward with accusations in lawsuits against the founder of Bad Boy Records. Model Crystal McKinney claimed she was attacked and was forced to have “oral sex” on Diddy in his recording studio in 2003.

Former Arista Records intern April Lampros said her friendship with Combs in the 1990s quickly “devolved into an aggressive, obsessive and abusive relationship due to sex“, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

Lampros recalled “four horrific sexual encounters” with Combs, one of which was in 1996 when Combs “forced” her Kim Porter and Lampros to take ecstasy and then “demanded that Kim Porter have sexual intercourse with Ms. Lampros.”

Combs and Porter were together for nearly 13 years and have three children together. Porter died in November 2018. She was 47.