Topline
Attorneys for music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs are requesting a spring trial date following his high-profile indictment final month, in response to multiple outlets, doing so someday after they made their third try to have the rapper launched on bail.
Combs has denied wrongdoing throughout all of the lawsuits and never been criminally charged. (Photo by … [+]
Timeline
Combs’ legal professionals request a trial on April or May 2025 for his intercourse trafficking expenses, although prosecutors haven't but disclosed their very own trial date desire, the Associated Press reported.
Lawyers for Combs filed paperwork late Tuesday asking he be allowed to await trial exterior of the Metropolitan Detention Center the place he resides, claiming the preliminary choice to disclaim him bail was unfairly “distorted” by the consideration on the case (the preliminary choose, who has since been changed, dominated Combs ought to keep in jail so he can’t use his cash and affect to intervene in the authorities's case towards him).
Janice Small Combs, Sean Combs' mom, stated in a statement by her household's lawyer she is “devastated and profoundly saddened” by the allegations towards her son, stated these accusing him of misconduct are “seeking a financial gain” and likened Combs to “many individuals” who've been “wrongfully convicted due to their past actions or mistakes”—although she additionally stated Combs has “made mistakes” and “may have been not entirely truthful” when denying assault allegations raised by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Houston-based lawyer Tony Buzbee said he's representing 120 accusers who plan to file civil lawsuits throughout a number of states alleging crimes like sexual assault, rape and sexual abuse of minors in claims that may embody “many powerful people” and “many dirty secrets.”
Layers for Combs filed a discover asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the Southern District of New York to overturn the choice to carry him in jail whereas he awaits trial, a alternative Judge Andrew Carter made citing concerns Combs had allegedly tampered with witnesses who had been contacted as a part of the investigation towards him.
Combs was accused of drugging and raping a girl on a number of events, with the girl, recognized as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, additional alleging she turned pregnant after one in all the encounters; she is searching for undisclosed damages, the Associated Press reported.
A documentary was launched for streaming on Tubi and featured an interview with Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo—who addressed the leaked surveillance video of Combs shoving and kicking ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura—wherein he referred to as the indictment a takedown of a “profitable Black man” and stated he does not count on Combs to just accept a plea discount.
Thalia Graves filed a federal lawsuit in New York claiming she was provided a glass of wine by Combs and Sherman in 2001, when she was 25, that made her “lightheaded, dizzy and physically weak” earlier than she misplaced consciousness and was raped by the two males her whereas her palms had been tied behind her again.
Combs' legal professionals cited “horrific” situations at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York in a request for bail—which included a $50 million bond supply, GPS monitoring and strict limitations on guests—that was denied by U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter, who stated the situations weren’t sufficient to make sure the security of the neighborhood.
A memo filed with New York choose Robyn F. Tarnofsky accuses Combs and co-conspirators of setting fireplace to an unnamed individual's automobile utilizing a Moltov cocktail in an accusation that matches one introduced by Combs' ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who stated in a lawsuit filed final yr that Combs blew up a automobile owned by rapper Kid Cudi.
A federal court docket in Manhattan unseals expenses towards Combs for racketeering, intercourse trafficking and transportation to have interaction in prostitution, alleging he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Combs is arrested in Manhattan after being indicted by a grand jury.
Federal investigators could carry Combs’ accusers to testify earlier than a grand jury quickly and most plaintiffs who've filed lawsuits towards the rapper have already been interviewed by investigators, sources told CNN—a transfer that would point out prosecutors want to cost anyone, although no expenses have been filed but.
Plaintiff April Lampros accuses Combs in a lawsuit filed in New York of sexual assault over 4 “terrifying sexual encounters” between 1995 and 2001, together with three incidents of rape and one occasion of Combs forcing her to take ecstasy.
Former mannequin Crystal McKinney information a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court docket accusing the rapper of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his New York recording studio in 2003.
Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend, speaks out after CNN obtained a 2016 video of Combs attacking her in a resort hallway, stating on Instagram that home violence “broke” her and she's going to “always be recovering” from her previous—Combs later apologized for the video.
In February, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sues the rapper in New York in February and alleges he was “subjected to unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction” and was compelled to have interaction in relations with intercourse staff he employed. In a set of broadly lined allegations, Jones says in the lawsuit that Combs repeatedly hosted “sex-trafficking parties” with underage ladies and unlawful medication, and implies document label executives who appeared the different approach financially benefited from entry to celebrities and dignitaries like the British royal Prince Harry, who shouldn't be accused of any wrongdoing or of attending events himself (Combs’ lawyer tells the Los Angeles Times the go well with consists of “reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction”).
Combs is hit with one other sexual assault go well with in December, accusing the rapper of drugging and taking part in a gang rape of the unnamed girl in 2003, when the accuser was 17 years outdated.
A girl named Joie Dickerson-Neal alleges in a lawsuit Combs drugged her, sexually assaulted her and secretly recorded the assault whereas she was a school pupil in 1991.
An nameless plaintiff accuses Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall of raping her and a buddy in 1990 or 1991 after assembly at an MCA Records occasion in New York—a go well with that, like the Dickerson-Neal grievance, was filed shortly earlier than the expiration of a New York regulation briefly permitting lawsuits for older assault allegations that may ordinarily be previous the statute of limitations.
Ventura’s $30 million go well with is settled the day after it was filed for an undisclosed quantity, with Ventura telling CNN she selected to “resolve this matter amicably,” whereas Combs’ lawyer says the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and didn’t change his denial of the allegations.
Cassie Ventura information the go well with towards Combs, alleging he raped her in 2018 and subjected her to a years-long abusive relationship that included bodily abuse and his assertion of “complete control” over her private {and professional} life.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching textual content message alerts so you will all the time know the largest tales shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or join here: joinsubtext.com/forbes.
Contra
Combs has denied all of the allegations towards him together with his attorneys characterizing a few of the lawsuits and their accusations to Forbes as cash grabs, “baseless” or “sickening.”
What To Watch For
An upcoming docuseries. Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson stated Netflix has received a “bidding war” for a docuseries about the string of latest abuse, rape and intercourse trafficking allegations towards Combs. Jackson confirmed in a tweet that the streamer purchased the G-Unit Film & Television collection about Combs he first began teasing in December, including that, “if more victims keep coming out, I’m gonna need more episodes.” Proceeds from the movie go to victims of sexual assault, Jackson stated in November.
Tangent
Combs posted to Instagram in May to apologize for his “disgusting” conduct in the surveillance video that confirmed him grabbing, dragging and kicking Cassie in 2016. The video appeared to again up a lot of the claims Ventura made in her November lawsuit, which an lawyer for Combs referred to as “offensive and outrageous” at the time. Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office referred to as the video “extremely disturbing” and “difficult to watch” however stated no expenses can be filed as a result of the obvious assault occurred past the statue of limitation in California. In his apology video, Combs stated the occasions occurred in “one in all the darkest occasions” of his life and stated he was “truly sorry” for his conduct. Meredith Firetog, one in all Ventura's legal professionals, later slammed the apology as disingenuous in a press release and stated it was “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.” In Ventura’s November lawsuit, she accused Combs of paying the resort wherein the surveillance video was captured $50,000 for the footage.
Surprising Fact
Combs’ former private chef, Cindy Rueda, accused Combs in a since-settled 2017 sexual harassment lawsuit of getting her put together and serve meals to the rapper and his company whereas they had been engaged in sexual exercise or proper after that they had performed so.
Key Background
The allegations contained in lawsuits towards Combs date way back to the Nineties, when he based his personal document label, Bad Boy Records, which Rolling Stone has referred to as “one of the most influential hip-hop labels of all time.” The label has signed main artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Janelle Monáe and Cassie, and has put out a number of of Combs' personal albums, together with “Press Play” and “Last Train To Paris.” Combs bought a 50% stake in Bad Boy to Warner Music Group in a reported $30 million deal in 2005. Combs has constructed a fortune by Bad Boy Records, a number of liquor manufacturers, a style label and different ventures. He sold his share in the DeLeón tequila model for $200 million earlier this yr. He was ranked No. 14 on Forbes' record of the highest-paid entertainers in 2022, making an estimated $90 million that yr. One of the rapper’s raided properties is positioned in Holmby Hills, an prosperous neighborhood the place Combs bought a house for $40 million ten years in the past.
Further Reading
Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ L.A. And Miami Homes (Forbes)
Sean Combs Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 17-Year-Old In Latest Lawsuit (Forbes)
Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Rape And Sexual Assault In Two New Separate Lawsuits (Forbes)
Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused Of Rape And Sex Trafficking By Singer And Former Partner (Forbes)
