Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Charged With Sex Trafficking & Racketeering: Indictment Unsealed

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday (Sept. 17) unsealed a criminal indictment of Sean “Diddy” Combs over sweeping allegations of sexual abuse, accusing the once-powerful rapper of running a racketeering conspiracy that included sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery.

Less than a day after the rapper was arrested Monday in New York City, Manhattan federal prosecutors unveiled the substance of their case against Combs – accusing him of operating a criminal enterprise centered on his “pervasive pattern of abuse toward women.”

“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” reads the indictment, which was obtained by Billboard. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”

At a press conference announcing the indictment on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams warned that his office would target “anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful or wealthy or famous” they are. “A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City,” Williams said. “Today, he’s been indicted and will face justice.”

Combs, 54, is expected to be arraigned later on Tuesday at a Manhattan federal courthouse. At the press conference, Williams said prosecutors would asked the judge to deny release on bail and keep Combs in jail until trial.

A spokesperson for Combs did not immediately return a request for comment on the unsealed indictment. In an earlier statement following his arrest, his attorney Marc Agnifilo said he and his client were “disappointed” the “unjust prosecution” he was facing.

“He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said. “To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

The charges against Combs come after a flood of civil lawsuits in which at least eight victims have sued him over allegations of sexual abuse, starting with a high-profile case filed last year by his longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura. That case quickly settled, but it was later corroborated by a widely-shared video of Combs assaulting her at a hotel.

Criminal charges against Combs were not unexpected. Federal agents carried out raids in March on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami, and multiple news outlets had reported that he was facing an ongoing investigation that included potential allegations of sex trafficking.

In Tuesday’s unsealed indictment, prosecutors allege that Combs violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – a law known as RICO that’s often used to target mobsters and drug cartels. Over 14 pages of details, the government claims Combs operated a similar criminal racket from 2008 onward, but one centered “fulfilling the personal desires of Combs, particularly those related to sexual gratification.”

“Combs … used the Combs business, including certain employees, to carry out, facilitate, and cover up his abuse and commercial sex,” prosecutors write.

Much of the case centers on events that Combs allegedly called “freak offs,” which prosecutors describe as “elaborate and produced sex performances” between victims and male sex workers during which Combs would masturbate. They allege Combs and his associates “wielded the power and prestige” of his fame to “intimidate, threaten and lure female victims” into his orbit, then used “force, threats of force, and coercion” to get them to participate.

During the freak offs, prosecutors claim Combs and others kept victims “obedient and compliant” by providing them with drugs, then subjected them to “physical, emotional and verbal abuse,” including hitting and kicking them, threatening career repercussions, and blackmailing them with footage.

“Victims believed they could not refuse Combs demands without risking their financial or job security,” prosecutors write. “Combs also used the sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings that he made during freak offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of victims.”

When faced with the risk that someone would expose his conduct, Combs and others used similar tactics to keep witnesses and victims silent, prosecutors say, including bribery, kidnapping and arson. The indictment says members of the organization carried firearms, and that “Combs himself carried or brandished firearms to intimidate and threaten others.”

In addition to the RICO allegations, the indictment also accuses Combs of federal sex-trafficking laws and a federal statute barring the transportation of sex workers. The indictment does not make clear how many alleged victims were impacted, and Williams declined to offer more details on Tuesday.

Though Tuesday’s indictment makes repeated mention of other members of Combs’ organization, the rapper himself is the only person currently facing charges. But at Tuesday’s press conference, Williams warned that could change.

“We are not done,” Williams said. “This investigation is ongoing, and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly.”

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