Legal
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An Earth, Wind & Fire tribute act will pay the legendary R&B group $750,000 in damages for using its trademarked name in ways that a federal judge called “deceptive and misleading.”
The payment, announced in a court filing Tuesday, will effectively end a year-long lawsuit in which the band alleged that the tribute act — “Earth, Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion” – infringed the trademark rights to the famous name by suggesting it was the real thing.
Earlier this year, the federal judge overseeing the case sided with Earth, Wind & Fire, ruling that the tribute act’s conduct had been “deceptive and misleading.” A trial had been scheduled to figure out how much Legacy Reunion would need to pay, but the two sides reached an undisclosed settlement on that question last week.
In Tuesday’s filing, the judge disclosed the total that Legacy Reunion had agreed to pay – $750,000, plus interest — a rare step following settlements, which are typically kept private. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
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Earth, Wind & Fire has continued to tour since founder Maurice White died in 2016, led by longtime members Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson and White’s brother, Verdine White. The band operates under a license from an entity called Earth Wind & Fire IP, a holding company controlled by Maurice White’s sons that formally owns the rights to the name.
Last year, that company filed the current lawsuit, accusing Legacy Reunion of trying to trick consumers into thinking it was the real Earth, Wind & Fire. Though it called itself a “Reunion,” the lawsuit said the tribute band contained only a few “side musicians” who had briefly played with Earth, Wind & Fire many years ago.
“Defendants did this to benefit from the commercial magnetism and immense goodwill the public has for plaintiff’s ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ marks and logos, thereby misleading consumers and selling more tickets at higher prices,” the group’s lawyers wrote at the time.
Tribute acts — groups that exclusively cover the music of a particular band — are legally allowed to operate, and they often adopt names that allude to the original. But they must make clear that they are only a tribute band, and they can get into legal hot water if they make it appear that they are affiliated with or endorsed by the original.
Ruling on the case last month, Judge Federico A. Moreno said the evidence pointed “overwhelmingly” in the band’s favor. In particular, the judge cited angry social media posts and emails from fans who attended the “Reunion” shows because they thought it was the original band — proof of the kind of “actual confusion” that’s crucial evidence in a trademark lawsuit.
“It is not a far cry to think that an average consumer looking for an Earth, Wind & Fire concert would believe that they could acquire that experience from either plaintiff or defendants,” the judge wrote.
Following Tuesday’s order, the only remaining issue in the case is an injuction permanently banning Legacy Reunion from infringing the name. That issue will be subject to future rulings clarifying exactly what it will cover.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of sexual assault in a new lawsuit filed by a woman who claims the hip-hop mogul sexually assaulted her in a recording studio bathroom in 2003.
According to the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New York by attorneys Michelle Caiola and Jonathan Goldhirsch, Crystal McKinney claims she met Combs at a Men’s Fashion Week dinner in Manhattan on the invite of a fashion designer she knew. While attending the dinner, during which she alleges that Combs came onto her “in a sexually suggestive manner,” she says he invited her to hang out at his recording studio.
After arriving at the studio, where McKinney says several other men were present, she claims she was given alcohol and a marijuana joint that she later came to believe was laced “with a narcotic or other intoxicating substance.” She says Combs then led her to a bathroom, where he began kissing her without her consent before shoving her head in his crotch and forcing her to perform oral sex over her protests.
McKinney, who was then working as a professional model, claims that she later “awakened in shock” to find herself in a taxi heading back to the apartment of the designer who had invited her to the dinner. At this point, she “realized that she had been sexually assaulted by Combs,” the complaint reads. The lawsuit adds that following the alleged assault, McKinney’s “modeling opportunities quickly began to dwindle and then evaporated entirely” after Combs allegedly “blackballed” her in the industry. After falling into “a tailspin of anxiety and depression,” she claims she attempted suicide in 2004 and later fell into drug and alcohol addiction to cope with the trauma of the alleged assault.
The new lawsuit was filed under the NYC Gender Motivated Violence Act, which created a two-year lookback window beginning in March 2023 that allows survivors of gender-motivated violence to sue their abusers for alleged incidents that occurred outside the statute of limitations.
Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Combs’ label Bad Boy Records, its parent company Universal Music Group and Combs’ clothing company Sean John Clothing, all of which McKinney claims “enabled” the alleged assault by “actively maintaining and employing Combs in a position of power” despite the fact that they allegedly “knew or should have known that Combs posed a risk of sexual assault.”
McKinney is asking for damages for mental and emotional injury, distress, pain and suffering and injury to her reputation as well as punitive damages, among other relief.
Representatives for Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean John Clothing and Universal Music Group did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s requests for comment.
Tuesday’s complaint marks the sixth sexual misconduct lawsuit to have been filed against Combs over the past several months. The torrent of lawsuits was kicked off by a November 2023 complaint filed by his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who alleged repeated abuse by the mogul over the course of more than a decade.
Though Ventura’s lawsuit was settled just one day later, a 2016 security video published by CNN on Friday (May 17) showed Combs physically assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway. Though Combs denied all of Ventura’s initial allegations, in the wake of the video’s release he issued an apology calling his behavior in the clip “inexcusable.” L.A. District Attorney George Gascón later released a statement saying that Combs could not be prosecuted over the assault due to the statute of limitations.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. On Dec. 6, he released a statement that read: “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
In November, Combs stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Podcast and music streaming company LiveOne is being sued for allegedly “openly and illegally operating a commercial office, business event center, professional podcast interview studio, and music recording studio” out of a 6,000-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills, according to a complaint filed May 10 by the property’s next-door neighbors.
Entertainment attorney Michael Kibler and his wife Ann Kibler allege LiveOne has been a “nuisance” since it moved to take over the lease for the house in 2022, leading to “noise at all hours of the day and night, increased foot and car traffic associated with commercial operations, and parking overflow, from the day-to-day commercial activity at the residence,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed by Kibler’s law partner John Fowler.
The house is located in the famed Beverly Hills Flats neighborhood, which has long struggled to balance the privacy and safety needs of its wealthy residents with the hustle and bustle of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills’ glitzy Golden Triangle corridor.
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According to the complaint, the Beverly Hills home now being used by LiveOne had been privately held and occupied by a long-time owner who passed away in 2021. The property, which includes, a pool, a swimming lap lane and a guest house, was then purchased by Siamak Khakshooy and Tanaz Koshki for $6.9 million in October 2021 and rented the following December to The Revels Group, which manages artists including rapper G-Eazy.
That’s when the problems for the Kibler family began, according to the lawsuit. The Revels Group used the space as its “creative compound,” the lawsuit reads, operating music studios on the property and promoting “all-night music industry events hosted by professional DJs” on a “nightclub-quality sound system in the backyard.” After receiving multiple complaints about the house, Beverly Hills’ Code Enforcement department launched an investigation in September 2022 and ordered the company to “permanently terminate all operations,” which led to The Revels Group not renewing its lease. After The Revels Group moved out in December 2022, LiveOne moved in around March 2023.
Since taking over the property, LiveOne “has operated its music and entertainment company by engaging in recording studio activities, hosting a pre-Grammy night party on February 3, 2024, and holding other music entertainment events,” the lawsuit reads.
The Kiblers have hired private investigators to surveil the house and issue lengthy reports identifying LiveOne staffers as they enter and exit the property, even running license plate checks on cars parked near the house to determine the identities of the drivers, according to the lawsuit. Besides the occasional late-night party, the Kibler’s biggest complaint is the “large quantities of trash overflowing from the City trash and recycling bins in the alley behind The LiveOne House.”
The Kiblers are suing LiveOne and the property’s owners for violating local zoning laws, charging both with public and private nuisance, as well as infliction of emotional distress. The Kiblers are asking a judge to order LiveOne to cease all business at the house and pay a $10,000 fine for each day it operates at the house.
Billboard reached out to LiveOne for comment but did not receive a response.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Spotify faces a lawsuit over allegations that it “unlawfully” chose to reduce royalty payments to publishers and songwriters; Earth, Wind & Fire reaches a settlement over how much it’s owed in damages by an unauthorized tribute band; Elvis Presley’s granddaughter sues to protect Graceland from a “fraudulent” foreclosure; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Spotify Taken To Court Over Royalties
Weeks after Billboard estimated that Spotify would pay roughly $150 million less to songwriters and publishers over the next year, the streaming giant is facing a legal battle over the move.In a lawsuit filed last week, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) claimed Spotify had “unilaterally and unlawfully” chosen to cut its royalty payments nearly in half by “erroneously recharacterizing” the nature of its streaming services to secure a lower rate.“The financial consequences of Spotify’s failure to meet its statutory obligations are enormous for songwriters and music publishers,” the MLC wrote. “If unchecked, the impact on songwriters and music publishers of Spotify’s unlawful underreporting could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.”At issue in the lawsuit is Spotify’s recent addition of audiobooks to its premium subscription service. The streamer believes that because of the new offering, it’s now entitled to pay a discounted “bundled” royalty rate under federal law. But the MLC says Spotify’s interpretation is legally incorrect and represents a “clear breach” of its requirements under the law.This is the second lawsuit of the past six months for the MLC — an entity created by Congress in 2018 to collect royalties under the Music Modernization Act. After the MLC filed a similar case against Pandora in February, that streamer argued that the group was supposed to operate as a “neutral intermediary” and was “not authorized to play judge and jury” or pursue “legal frolics.”For the full breakdown of the new case against Spotify — including industry reactions and access to the full complaint filed in court — go read Kristin Robinson’s entire story here.
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Other top stories this week…
TRADEMARK TRIAL AVERTED – Earth, Wind & Fire reached a settlement with a tribute act that used the R&B group’s name without permission, avoiding a looming trial over how much the unauthorized group would have to pay in damages. The agreement came months after a federal judge ruled that the tribute act — “Earth, Wind & Fire Legacy Reunion” — had infringed the band’s trademarks.LIVE NATION CASE EXPLAINED – With an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation from the U.S. Department of Justice expected soon, Billboard‘s Dave Brooks dove deep — breaking down the particulars of the looming case, explaining how it might affect Live Nation and recounting recent federal efforts to crack down on anti-competitive practices at tech giants like Google and Apple.COURTHOUSE ROCK – Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking a “fraudulent” foreclosure sale of the late singer’s historic Memphis home Graceland. Keough’s lawyers say the sale foreclosure was triggered by phony claims that her late mother, Lisa Marie Presley, borrowed $3.8 million and used Elvis’ famed mansion as collateral.UMG DROPPED FROM DIDDY CASE – Universal Music Group (UMG) and CEO Lucian Grainge were dismissed from a lawsuit claiming they “aided and abetted” Sean “Diddy” Combs in his alleged sexual abuse — a move that came after the lawyer who filed the case admitted there had been “no legal basis for the claims.” The sudden reversal came as UMG’s lawyers argued that the accusations were so “offensively false” that they planned to take the unusual step of seeking legal penalties directly against the accuser’s lawyer.SAMPLE SETTLEMENT – Kanye West reached a settlement with the estate of Donna Summer to resolve a copyright lawsuit that accused him of “shamelessly” using her 1977 hit “I Feel Love” without permission in his song “Good (Don’t Die).” The case, filed in February, claimed that West “arrogantly and unilaterally” used her music even though he had been explicitly refused a license.NAME GAMES – Members of the 1980s new wave band The Plimsouls won a legal ruling against the group’s guitarist over the trademark rights to the band’s name. The case was the music industry’s latest battle over the names of classic rock groups, including Journey, Stone Temple Pilots, Jefferson Starship, the Rascals, the Ebonys, The Commodores and The Platters.
Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, the actress Riley Keough, has filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking a looming foreclosure sale of the late singer’s historic Memphis home Graceland, calling the proceedings “fraudulent.”
In a case filed in Tennessee court last week, Keough alleged that the foreclosure was triggered by phony demands from a company called Naussany Investments – an entity that allegedly claims her late mother, Lisa Marie Presley, borrowed $3.8 million and used the famed mansion as collateral.
The alleged loans are recorded in documents supplied by Naussany that feature Lisa Marie’s signature, but Keough’s lawyers say those records are “forgeries” and that she “did not in fact sign the documents.”
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“These documents are fraudulent,” Keough’s attorneys write in their May 15 complaint, obtained by Billboard. “Lisa Marie Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments.”
The foreclosure sale for Graceland had been scheduled for Thursday, but according to court records, Keough’s attorneys won a temporary restraining order last week blocking any sale until the judge can rule on the dispute. A court hearing is set for Wednesday on Keough’s efforts to secure a longer-term injunction blocking the sale.
Naussany (Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC) could not immediately be located for comment. An attorney for Keough declined to comment. News of the lawsuit was first reported Monday by the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
When Elvis died in 1977, his daughter Lisa Marie inherited his estate, including Graceland — a tourist mecca that pulls in millions of dollars a year in revenue. Until her death last year, she served as trustee of the Promenade Trust, an entity that controls the Memphis mansion. When she passed away, Keough assumed that same role and took control of the property.
According to the lawsuit, Naussany alleges it made the multi-million dollar loan to Lisa Marie in 2018 and recorded the transaction in Florida. But Keough’s lawyers say that Naussany is “a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding the Promenade Trust,” orchestrated by a man named Kurt Naussany who has sent “numerous emails seeking to collect the purported $3.8 million debt.”
Keough’s attorneys say the evidence “strongly indicates the documents are forgeries” – most notably, that the notary who allegedly signed off on the transaction has confirmed that she did not do so. “Indeed, she confirmed she has never met Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any document for her.”
50 Cent didn’t take long to share his reaction to Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ apology over a 2016 video that appears to show the Bad Boy CEO assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel. “This is not going to work, who is advising him right now? SMH bad move,” the G-Unit boss — who has been […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs has issued an apology in response to a 2016 video that appears to show him assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel.
On Sunday morning (May 19), the hip-hop mogul took to social media to share a 70-second video of himself taking responsibility for his actions in the disturbing clip.
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy says in his apology video, which he posted to Instagram. “I was f—ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”
In the video, obtained by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
Combs continued his apology, saying, “I went out and sought professional help. Had to go into therapy, into rehab. Had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to being a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
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The hip-hop star’s apology arrives on the heels of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office issuing a statement that Combs won’t be prosecuted over his actions in the 2016 video.
“We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the office of L.A. District Attorney George Gascón wrote in a statement on Instagram Friday (May 17). “If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
The statement added that law enforcement has not presented the L.A. County DA’s office with “a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
The contents of the video mirror an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against Diddy in November, in which she also alleged one instance of rape and another instance of Combs forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Ventura had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his Bad Boy Records label, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.
Since Ventura filed her lawsuit late last year, Combs has been hit with four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the mogul stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Watch Diddy’s apology video on Instagram below.
Sean “Diddy” Combs won’t be prosecuted over a 2016 video that appears to show him assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
“We find the images extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” the office of L.A. District Attorney George Gascón wrote in a statement on Instagram Friday (May 17). “If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”
In the video, obtained by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
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The statement added that law enforcement has not presented the L.A. County DA’s office with “a case related to the attack depicted in the video against Mr. Combs, but we encourage anyone who has been a victim or witness to a crime to report it to law enforcement or reach out to our office for support from our Bureau of Victims Services.”
The contents of the video mirror an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against Diddy in November, in which she also alleged one instance of rape and another instance of Combs forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Ventura had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his Bad Boy Records label, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.
Since Ventura filed her lawsuit late last year, Combs has been hit with four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the mogul stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Read the L.A. County DA office’s full statement on Instagram below.
A 2016 surveillance video appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel, mirroring an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against the hip-hop mogul in November.
In the video, obtained by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.
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After briefly dragging Ventura down the hallway, Combs, wrapped only in a bath towel, appears to release his grip. Ventura is then seen standing up before gathering some of her things from the floor and moving toward a phone in the hallway near the elevators. Combs can then be seen returning and appearing to shove Ventura. Just seconds later, he sits in a chair, grabs something off of a table and appears to throw it at her. He then walks away before turning toward Ventura once more, just as one of the elevator doors opens and someone is seen walking out.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
A representative for Combs did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Ventura sued Combs on Nov. 16, 2023, claiming that he repeatedly physically abused her over the course of a decade, including one allegation of rape when she tried to leave him in 2018. She also accused Combs of forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated. In a statement at the time, Combs’ attorney, Ben Brafman, said the hip-hop giant “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” alleging that Ventura had made a “persistent demand” of a $30 million payout in the six months leading up to her lawsuit. Ventura’s lawyer responded by disputing Brafman’s claim, saying that Combs instead offered Ventura “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit.”
The case, which was filed under a newly enacted law in New York that created a limited window for abuse survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would otherwise be barred under the statute of limitations, was settled the day after it was filed.
Ventura had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his Bad Boy Records label, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.
Since Ventura filed her lawsuit, Combs has been hit with four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the mogul stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.
Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
UPDATE (5/16/24 at 3:41 p.m. ET):
Brendan Paul has qualified for a diversion program designed for non-violent drug defendants with no priors, a representative from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office confirmed with Billboard on Thursday (May 16). According to the department’s website, these diversion programs “address first-time offenders’ charges if they complete program conditions, which may include classes, community service houses, and fines.” In a statement to Billboard, Paul’s attorney wrote, “Brendan accepted the prosecutor’s offer to permit his entry into the diversion program which, after completion, the case against him will be dismissed in its entirety.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
Brendan Paul, who has been accused of working as a “drug and gun mule” for Sean “Diddy” Combs, was arraigned in a Miami-Dade County courtroom on Wednesday (April 24), with his lawyer entering a not guilty plea for his 25-year-old client. Paul was arrested at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on March 25 with cocaine and cannabis-infused candy allegedly in his possession the same day Diddy’s LA and Miami homes were raided.
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TMZ captured footage of Diddy pacing around outside of that same airport on the day Paul was detained by federal agents. Paul made bond and was released the next day, on Tuesday, March 26.
According to NBC Miami, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office filed a cocaine possession charge but dropped a possession of a controlled substance charge against Paul. Although Paul wasn’t in attendance at the arraignment on Wednesday, his lawyer Brian Bieber a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
From 2018 to 2020, Paul played two seasons for the Syracuse men’s basketball team. He didn’t get too much playing time, appearing in 16 games total and averaging less than a point, according to Sports Reference. He then became interested in becoming a music producer and transferred to a Division II school in West Virginia where he graduated with a business degree. By 2022, he was traveling around with Diddy on his private jet.
Paul’s arrest stems from a sex-trafficking probe involving Combs, who has maintained his innocence. NBC reports that at least five law enforcement sources have said the raids are connected to an ongoing sex trafficking probe. A day after the late-March raids of his homes, Diddy’s attorney Aaron Dyer shared this statement with Billboard: “Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences. There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated. Mr. Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”
Diddy’s former girlfriend Cassie Ventura opened the floodgates against Combs with her now-settled lawsuit back in November. The music mogul has faced a slew of other sexual misconduct lawsuits since and was forced to step down as chairman of Revolt TV.