Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, facing multiple accusations in civil lawsuits of sexual abuse and trafficking, was arrested by federal authorities late Monday, The News has learned.
The indictment was sealed and no charges were immediately available.
“Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,” a statement from Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
The New York Times said Diddy was taken into custody after a grand jury indictment. TMZ reported Diddy was in a Midtown hotel when feds arrested him.
Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilio released a statement on X Monday night that read in part: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
According to a July report, a federal grand jury in New York City had been hearing evidence in a criminal investigation involving Combs. Two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News the disgraced music mogul and his legal team had been notified by authorities in the Southern District of New York that he was the subject of an ongoing probe.
A law enforcement official confirmed at the time of that report to Deadline that Diddy and his legal team were formally notified of those proceedings, but did not give details on what claims the investigation involves.
In March, Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal agents. Afterwards, he called it an “unprecedented ambush” and decried the “premature rush to judgment” it would lead to.
Homeland Security Investigations issued a statement at the time saying it had “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation” and would “provide further information as it becomes available.”
Diddy has been the subject of multiple lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault or trafficking.
That included a blockbuster lawsuit by his ex-girlfriend, Cassie, who accused him of physically abusing her for years and raping her when she tried to leave him. The suit was settled in late 2023.
A recent lawsuit filed in New York accused the rap mogul of drugging and sexually assaulting a 22-year-old IMG model, who says in the suit she kept the clothes she wore that night to prove it.
Former model Crystal McKinney filed a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit in May alleging Combs attacked her in 2003 after a designer introduced them at a Men’s Fashion Week event at Cipriani Downtown.
At the dinner, Combs was overly suggestive, “bordering on leering,” as he plied McKinney with alcohol and promised to use his industry connections to advance the Georgia native’s career, predicting she “was going to make it big one day,” the suit alleges.
“[H]opeful that Combs would fulfill his promises to help her career,” McKinney accepted an invitation back to Combs’ W. 44th St. Midtown studio, where she alleges the rapper and his associates offered her marijuana she later determined was laced with an intoxicant.
In graphic detail, the suit alleges Combs then led a clearly intoxicated McKinney to the bathroom, forcibly kissing her and shoving her head down to perform oral sex against her will before leading her back into the studio, where she lost consciousness.
With Theresa Braine and Molly Crane Newman
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