“For decades, Sean Combs...
abused, threatened, and coerced women ...
to fulfill his sexual desires,” the indictment says Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2023 Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs Embattled music mogul has been charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and interstate transportation to engage in prostitution, a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Tuesday in New York revealed. The sprawling and sordid RICO case, which claims Combs used his vast wealth and prestige to run a criminal enterprise centered on “his own sexual gratification” between 2008 and this year, carries the possibility of life in prison for the Bad Boy Entertainment founder. A downcast Combs, 54, appeared in a courtroom in lower Manhattan Tuesday, wearing gray sweatpants and plain black T-shirt.
Throughout the two-hour hearing, Combs mostly faced forward and spoke aloud once as he pleaded not guilty to the three charges. The scene played out from the Manhattan hotel where he’d been staying. Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said he was “disappointed” with the “unjust prosecution,” calling Combs “an innocent man with nothing to hide.
” “As reflected by the gravity of the charges in the Indictment, the defendant is dangerous and poses an ongoing threat to the safety of the community,” they wrote in a letter to the judge, later emphasizing in court their fear that Combs would tamper with witnesses and victims. Combs’ defense asked the court to “trust�.