NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs was expected to appear before a federal judge in New York on Tuesday after his indictment on undisclosed criminal charges. The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami. Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of “The Four: Battle For Stardom” in May 2018 in Los Angeles.
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP The indictment detailing the charges was expected to be unsealed Tuesday morning, according to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations and his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, called the new indictment an “unjust prosecution.” “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.
Combs, 58, was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah. In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.
The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassi.