(MENAFN- Live Mint) Sean 'Diddy ' Combs faces federal charges in New York, AP reported citing his lawyer.
The New York Times reported that Combs has been arrested in Manhattan in relation to a federal investigation against him. It added, citing a source, that he was arrested on the evening of September 16 after a grand jury indicted Combs in a sealed proceeding. No charges were publicly announced, but the source said they were racketeering and sex trafficking.
The United States Attorney's Office in New York did not respond to queries, the NYT report added.
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AP reported that Combs's legal team expressed disappointment with the indictment and, in a statement, called him "an imperfect person, but not a criminal."
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying:“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. Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.”
“Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” the statement added.
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The federal investigation of Combs (58) was revealed when Homeland Security agents served him with simultaneous search warrants in March before raiding his mansions in Los Angeles and Miami, AP report added.
His lawyer, Aaron Dyer, had then called these raids“a gross use of military-level force” and the allegations“meritless”. He also said Combs was“innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.
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Singer Cassandra Ventura, known as Cassie, sued him for sexual abuse in November 2023. She was among many people who did so, the AP report added. In her lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings. rape , and forcing her into sex trafficking. While the lawsuit was settled, a leaked video aired by CNN in May 2024 showed Combs punching Cassie, kicking her and throwing her on the floor in a hotel hallway. In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them. Another of Combs' accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17. Another woman who filed a lawsuit, April Lampos, said she was a college student in 1994 when she met Combs and a series of“terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him began that lasted for years.
The AP report added that Cassie and Lampos, identified themselves and have hence been named in the news report.
Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits' allegations.
(With inputs from AP)
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