Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - How P. Diddy's 'Likely' Arrest in Sex Trafficking Investigation Would Go Down

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law & Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Sean Diddy Combs, under investigation for sex trafficking, could an arrest be on the horizon for the hip-hop mogul? And what would that look like if it even happened? We look at that and much, much more. Thanks for joining me for Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Sean Combs maintains through his lawyer that he has done nothing wrong. We want to get

Starting point is 00:00:30 that straight right now. And that the women accusing him of sexual and physical assault and trafficking are shaking him down. But nearly two weeks ago, the feds showed up at Diddy's mansions in Miami and Los Angeles to execute search warrants. The mother of one of Diddy's mansions in Miami and Los Angeles to execute search warrants. The mother of one of Diddy's sons accused Homeland Security agents of excessive force in executing those warrants. Since November, a number of women, beginning with singer Cassie Ventura, who dated Diddy for years, have sued him, accusing him of abuse, threats with guns, and even sexual assault. Diddy settled with Cassie the next day, acknowledging the relationship was volatile, but wishing her love. Now TMZ's The Shade Room reports that Cassie is cooperating with the feds. More on that with our guest in just a moment.

Starting point is 00:01:17 A record producer, Little Rod, is also suing Diddy, accusing him of sexual assault and forcing him into sex acts with sex workers and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. So what could the arrest of Sean Diddy Combs, if it ever happens, look like? Joining me to discuss this and so much more is somebody who is an expert in human trafficking. She was also an instructor for the Department of Homeland Security. She is Ms. Sunny Slaughter. Sunny, thanks for coming on. First of all, what would you expect if Sean Diddy Combs were, in fact, arrested by the feds? is that because he has some very high-powered attorneys, they are likely going to call them and see if he can turn himself in without effectuating the same type of arrest that you might see on others where they go and get him, unless they notify or notice that there's

Starting point is 00:02:16 some peculiar activity going on where they believe he might flee the jurisdiction or the country. So you believe it's a question of not if, but when he's arrested? Yes, I do believe that there will be an arrest. I don't know exactly what all the charges will be, but this is a process-looking type of activity, and this is part of the process. It just looks like this is going in stages, and that's what's going to happen eventually. You and I have been talking about this for a few days now. There were civil suits that were filed back in November. That's kind of when the floodgates appeared to open. It started with Cassie Ventura and then other women started filing civil suits. Little Rod then filed a civil suit, a man alleging sexual abuse, sexual assault, trafficking, things of that nature.

Starting point is 00:03:06 So we have all of these civil suits and people have been commenting and saying, well, this gave the feds the roadmap to use to do this case. But you and I have been talking, you're saying this criminal investigation has actually been underway for some time. And you're saying that Sean Combs has been under the microscope by the feds since before Cassie Ventura filed that civil suit. Yes. So I believe that his name has come up in other investigations, similarly situated, and that they were just waiting. They are looking. These investigations take a very long time, particularly when the federal government is doing it. The agency that arrested him was actually, it was the Department

Starting point is 00:03:52 of Homeland Security, but the unique unit of the Homeland Security Investigations. They specialize in these types of crimes, human trafficking, sex trafficking, labor trafficking cases. These are not quick cases and they are very quiet cases, particularly when they're going to investigate something multi-jurisdictional. So what I believe has been going on is they have been taking the threads of other information that they've been hearing and they didn't need Cassie's civil complaint to effectuate a criminal investigation. Start one. There effectuate a criminal investigation. Start one. There was already a criminal investigation on. What they needed was her to be a cooperating witness based on the information that was in her civil complaint that allowed them to connect the dots.

Starting point is 00:04:43 This case is about proximity. Proximity of the Sean Combs to individuals who would have the most information that they could glean from that is accurate, not speculation. And the shade room, the TMZ's the shade room is reporting that Cassie Ventura is indeed cooperating with the feds.

Starting point is 00:05:07 And I don't think that would be a huge shock because she put it all out there in this civil suit back in November. I mean, she literally said, here it is. So I can't imagine that she wouldn't be willing to talk to the feds. Right. She is probably the feds didn't need her to create, but what would happen is they would use her civil complaint to actually connect the dots between what they're already working on, what they already suspected, what they already knew to what they are currently doing right now. And it is absolutely not outside of the realm of possibility that she has been cooperating now since she put out her civil suit. Who else do you think could potentially face charges in this case? Because we're talking about potential charges at this point. There's an investigation underway. There could be a federal grand jury underway. We don't know. You know, it could be underway right now or maybe they're preparing for that. But who else do you think could potentially face charges? We know that his suspected drug mule was taken into custody. They will try to flip that guy and get information from him. co-conspirators to this particular crime or who might be named as defendants that are not

Starting point is 00:06:28 co-conspirators but actual defendants would be people closest to him. Like in Jeffrey Epstein's case, you had Galene Maxwell. So who is the person that would be like her in this particular case? She might be identified as a co-conspirator, a co-defendant, somebody who engaged in this particular case. She might be identified, co-conspirator, co-defended, somebody who engaged in this type of activity. The bodyguards, the information that they have. You also want to take a look at the other stars who have been named in the other civil cases and also have had similar charges levied against them outside of this particular case. So there is a long list of individuals who would really need to consider getting counsel themselves because they all can't have the same legal counsel in this particular RICO case

Starting point is 00:07:20 because they are eventually going to turn on one another. Let's face it, life is messy and it can be really hard. And sometimes you get into a jam where you need a lawyer to help you and to fight for you. Morgan & Morgan is a firm that will do just that. Morgan & Morgan is the largest personal injury law firm in the United States with more than 1,000 attorneys. The firm makes it really easy to submit a claim.

Starting point is 00:07:43 You do it in a matter of clicks on your cell phone. If you ever get hurt, your injury could be worth millions. And taking on a big insurance company is a lot easier when you have a firm like Morgan & Morgan fighting for you. Morgan & Morgan has had some big, big verdicts. They don't settle for lowball offers. In Philly, the firm won a $26 million verdict. In Florida, they had a $12 million verdict. And in New York, there was a $6.8 million verdict. Also, there are zero upfront fees. Submitting a claim is free and you only pay if you win. So if you'd like to submit a claim, go to ForThePeople.com slash CrimeFix or click the link in the description and pinned in the comments. Justin Combs' mother, Misa Hilton, she posted a video on Instagram and it's gotten a lot of

Starting point is 00:08:33 attention. And she has accused the feds, as have Sean Combs' lawyers, Aaron Dyer in particular, of being heavy handed, going in with heavy artillery, really making a show out of this for the execution of these search warrants. And I know I've covered a lot of search warrants over the years, the execution of them. And I think there are some misconceptions about this. I'm not making an assertion about this particular situation. I wasn't there. I wasn't in the property to see exactly what happened. But SWAT teams are typically employed when search warrants are executed. I want you to talk to me a little bit about these allegations by Justin Combs' mother in particular and some others that this

Starting point is 00:09:16 was heavy handed. This was overkill, sending in tanks and SWAT team members to execute these warrants. So the mom was momming. She was playing her role as the mom and her child was there. She was emotional. She was reactive. She doesn't understand process. The lawyer is doing what lawyers do.

Starting point is 00:09:35 He was defending his client, making a claim that this was overreach. But remember, he also used to work for the United States Attorney's Office. This was not overreach. This is a part of the process. This is what normally happens. And part of the allegations levied against Sean Collins was that there was guns and activity

Starting point is 00:09:54 and drugs and everything related to this particular case, right? So law enforcement has a duty to, one, protect and serve themselves, protect one another. They also have a duty to protect one, protect and serve themselves, protect one another. They also have a duty to protect and serve the public. The way in which they went in is a normal part of the process. As you stated, SWAT is a part of that process. These are large facilities that they have to sweep through. They don't know what they could find, what there is there, and who may be there. So they have to execute in a way that is first going to ensure the safety and security of the officers and experts that are coming in behind to execute

Starting point is 00:10:32 the search warrant. And that is exactly what they did. The tanks and everything, it's how they ride, it's how they go in. It may look ominous, but it is what happens in these type of cases. Not that it's just high profile. It happens in cases that are not as high profile, but it is what happens in these type of cases. Not that it's just high profile. It happens in cases that are not as high profile, but we are talking about human trafficking, sex trafficking, guns, drugs. This is what happens. And I want to talk about how that is assessed too. It's not like you just go in, the feds are like, we're going to just do this warrant or other agencies. We're just going to do this warrant and we're just going to get the tanks out and we're just going to roll in there and we're going to do it on this day and boom, boom, boom, willy nilly, we're going to do this.

Starting point is 00:11:13 There is some surveillance that goes into this and there are some factors that have to be taken into account with, they call it like the matrix is my understanding. There's a matrix assessment that's done. And I probably am misusing this a little bit, the terminology, but they look at a bunch of factors when determining how they execute these warrants and what is employed to do so. So can you tell me a little bit about that? Yes. So Sean Combs and his entire team have been under surveillance for quite some time, specifically because they knew they were going to execute a warrant based on the information that they

Starting point is 00:11:50 had gleaned from civil suits, from other information. And what they have done is they have been doing surveillance at both locations. They have reached out to their assessment team to determine what they are going to do. Because the SWAT team and those that go in before the actual human HSI teams are different. Not always, they're part of the team, but they are separate and they do their own assessment. Like you said, a matrix. They're looking out, they're mapping out locations, they're mapping out time, they're mapping out when heavy is traffic is, when it's not, who's in the area, who's coming and going. They're looking at things that we don't know and they are making an assessment about how much artillery and

Starting point is 00:12:35 information is needed and necessary to ensure that this is going to be a safe execution without execution of a search and seizure warrant, without executing anyone or causing additional harm to those. Are people going to be disrupted? Yes. A search warrant is not to make people feel comfortable. It is to gather evidence. So the team that decides how this will happen is very knowledgeable. This is what they do. They're very trained. This operation is multi-jurisdictional. This is the United States Attorney's Office, FBI. This is the Homeland Security. These are individuals that when you see those with masks on, those are people that you don't know who may have been in the area. They keep themselves covered, concealed, and that's how they operate. People may think this is heavy-handed, but you have to weigh their reaction and response,

Starting point is 00:13:32 their response, I'm sorry, against what they are hearing. And if people are not concerned about these charges and what may have been happening, then they're not paying attention and they're reacting with very strong emotion. You don't want people held in captivity. You don't want bombs and guns. They didn't say bombs, but guns and artillery in your neighborhood near you or anything like that. So people have to really tamp down their emotion, stick to the facts and evidence, and wait

Starting point is 00:14:03 to see how everything rolls out. But it's a process, and this is happening. So Sunny, to wrap up, you see an arrest coming for Sean Diddy Combs. You believe he will surrender or arrange a surrender unless there's something that comes up, like an indication he could flee. Yes, I do believe that an arrest is imminent, but I don't know when, don't know how soon they are. They just got some of the evidence. I believe that he he has very skilled attorneys. I believe that they will negotiate a surrender because he doesn't have to do this the bad boy way.

Starting point is 00:14:38 He has children. He has a family. I think he will consider all of those things and surrender peacefully. But this is going to be a process that I think that is going to play out, is still going to play out over time. And I think we should all just wait. I also want to say before I end is the search warrant is not a conviction. His arrest is not a conviction. Even all of the civil complaints are not convictions. He has the right to due process. This, unfortunately, people don't recognize is a part of the due process that is guaranteed to all citizens. And he is not guilty until he is not just charged, but convicted of what he has been charged of. So we should all be mindful of that. We want justice to play out. This is not heavy handed.

Starting point is 00:15:30 This is the reality. And this is happening. And I second that, too. He has not been convicted. He hasn't even been charged. So and he is entitled if he is indeed charged to due process. Agree 100 percent. Sonny Slaughter, thank you as always.

Starting point is 00:15:45 Thank you so much for having me. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you back here next time.

Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - How P. Diddy's 'Likely' Arrest in Sex Trafficking Investigation Would Go Down

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.