Law&Crime Sidebar - 10 Horrific New P. Diddy Accusations in Lawsuits Filed Just Before Bail Hearing

Episode Date: November 21, 2024

Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee filed new lawsuits on behalf of five anonymous clients this week. The alleged victims accuse Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting them in separate incidents dating back to 2001. The new allegations come just before Combs’ team is expected to advocate for bail for the disgraced rapper a third time. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber has the details.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code SIDEBAR at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/sidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. As the disgrace music mogul, Sean Diddy Combs prepares to appear in court to argue for bail a third time. New people are coming forward with disturbing allegations against him. I'm going to dig into five new lawsuits filed this week and the impact, if any, they could have on Diddy's federal case. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. Jesse Weber. Well, when it comes to Sean Diddy Combs, the lawsuits just keep on coming. And particularly when you talk about Texas lawyer Tony Busby, he has filed five new lawsuits in federal courts on

Tuesday with some of the most horrific claims yet against the embattled rapper. The accusations come from both men and women, some just teens when they say that Combs attack them, others in their late 30s. The claims are all related to alleged conduct in New York and Miami, two places where Combs had lived and worked for decades. And they're just as equally as disturbing as what we've heard in the past. And we know that Tony Busby has filed a number of lawsuits already against Sean Combs. He says he represents over a hundred alleged victims of Sean Combs. And just to take a step back, you know by now what we're talking about, right? The criminal charges that Sean Combs is facing out of the Southern District of New York.

Grand jury indictment led to charges of racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution, sex trafficking, prosecutors claiming that Combs used his influence as the head of bad boy records and his other businesses, his significant wealth, his influence, his power to host freak-offs, these elaborate sexual orgies that involved illegal drugs. and male prostitutes and coercion and force, and there were entire camera setups. And the government says that Combs would go to any lengths, legal or illegal, to satisfy his sexual desires. We know that the rapper was arrested in New York in September.

He's been locked up ever since in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His defense team is actively trying to get him out of there. They are going to be trying for a third time to get him bail this time in front of Judge Arun's Subramarian. We're actually going to be doing a whole separate episode that's coming out to. tonight, too, on what you can expect from that bail hearing. And also, we're going to cover that live for you on Friday on law and crime as well. You can check it out on our YouTube page. But as we now know, he's not just facing the criminal charges. He is also facing all these lawsuits,

a barrage of civil lawsuits. The floodgates, they really seemingly opened after his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura filed that bombshell lawsuit against him, claiming that Combs subjected her to a decade of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Combs adamantly denied the claims, but you remember he settled that lawsuit with Cassie the very next day. And then there was the surge of lawsuits after that with several other people coming forward to say that while Combs appeared to be everybody's favorite celebrity rapper, appearing on talk shows, guest starring on TV shows and movies, behind the scenes, they say he was essentially a ruthless criminal.

Well, on Tuesday, attorney Tony Busby filed these five new complaints. And they share a common theme. They share a common theme with the others that he has filed on behalf of clients. who say that Combs abused them. They all talk about Combs alleged drug use, the claim that he and his associates would drug or lace drinks with GHB or ecstasy, that he would give them to unsuspecting victims

at parties and auditions, allegations that not only he, but his associates, his bodyguards, participated in forced sexual acts. And all the plaintiffs, they have filed anonymously against not only Combs, but also his companies like Bad Boy Entertainment, bad boy productions. Now, before I get into this, I have to stress something.

Combs has always denied any wrongdoing or criminal activity, okay? He and his attorneys have said that if anything sexual did happen, it was consensual. And remember, he hasn't been found liable in a court of law yet. He hasn't been found guilty in a court of law yet. And I think the argument would be it may seem strange to you and I. You and I might not engage in these kinds of freakoff sessions, but it's not necessarily illegal. By the way, with stories like this, our content, these ditty allegations, I think it just goes to show you how important personal safety is.

And I don't know if you think about it a lot, but do you know where that becomes especially important? Protecting your privacy online. I think you'd be shocked at how much of your personal information is actually out there, like your address and your phone number. Do you ever wonder why you get so many spam calls and emails? That's because all that information is public. But that is where our sponsor, Inecogni, comes in.

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where anyone who uses code Sidebar at Incogny.com slash Sidebar gets 60% off of an annual Incogny plan. now the accusations in this first lawsuit i have to tell you are so disturbing that there's just some of this complaint i'm not going to get into that's actually with respect to i think the other lawsuits too certain details i'm just not going to share but i do have to talk about certain details it's important to know what we're saying it's important to know what the people are saying why they're saying it and what the protections are under the law so with that caveat let's go into this now one of the latest law is from a John Doe who lives in Texas.

The complaint says in the late 90s and early 2000s, Plaintiff was an actor, regularly traveling across the United States for additions and roles on stage and screen. After finding out about a role playing a police officer in a music video, plaintiff exchanged phone calls with a female casting director in New York. In October 2001, he traveled to Manhattan to meet with her. Now, we don't know John Doe's age at the time he says he met Sean Combs, but we know that he was an adult.

But we've told you about other lawsuits where people claim that when they were children, maybe sometimes when they were auditioning for Sean Combs, they were sexually assaulted. They were drugged. So keep that in mind. But going back to this lawsuit, so John Doe goes to New York, he goes to a hotel near Central Park, and it's there where he meets up with someone appearing to be Sean Combs' bodyguard or an assistant of some kind. And they talk about John Doe's background and his fitness routines. and when Combs comes in, he asked John Doe questions about himself and his trip to New York. And he reportedly wants to know if John Doe is there by himself, meaning, did he have any friends in New York? And John Doe told him no. Processed that for a second.

Because then he says, Combs allegedly gave John Doe the once over and said he'll do. A very ominous statement given what the plaintiff says happened next because the complaint reads, Once plaintiff sat back down, the casting director offered him an alcoholic drink, which he declined. She then offered him a Diet Coke and a glass, which he drank, but noted that it tasted strange. At that point, plaintiff realized the casting director was the only female in the room. The conversation continued regarding the music video and shooting schedule, but as time passed, plaintiff began to feel dizzy and nauseous. He asked to use the bathroom because he felt like he might pass out.

And shortly after that, plaintiff did in fact pass out. Based on information and belief, Combs by himself or through his agents, employees previously, laced plaintiffs drink with drugs, including but not limited to GHB and or ecstasy. That theme of ledged drugging is a constant through line in both the criminal allegations and the civil allegations. And we have to warn you that this next part is incredibly tough. The complaint reads, to in a twilight state, still dizzy and nauseous, but semi-conscious and disoriented. As plaintiff tried to get his bearings, he realized he was laying face down across a large

ottoman, with his head and arms hanging off of one side and the lower half of his body hanging off the other. His pants were pulled down to his ankles and his shirt was pulled over his head. He felt a great deal of pain and realized as he looked back that he was being anally sodomized by Combs. His vision was blurry, but he recognized Combs' chest tattoo and the large gold chain with a jeweled cross on it that Combs wore during the interview. Plaintiff tried to fight him off but felt dizzy and sick whenever he tried to move. Additionally, Combs' bodyguard was holding plaintiff down by the arms.

John Doe then describes further, alleged assaults in graphic detail, claiming multiple men raped him that day. He says he could hear other people in the room laughing and talking, believes that he saw camera flashes at one point. And Jondo claims that he passed out multiple times before he was finally able to regain control of his body and get up. The complaint says embarrassed and violated. Plaintiff tried to cover himself up and started looking for his clothes. Once he found his pants, shirt, and shoes, he ran for the door without his underwear and also without one of his prize possessions, a commemorative leather jacket that he got from working as a stuntman on the film Robocop. Plaintiff never saw that jacket again.

As he ran out, he heard someone near the door laugh and say, hope you had fun. He goes on to say that the doorman helped plaintiff get a cab, and he returned to his room at his hotel, where plaintiff vomited and cried all night, replying the trauma of what had just happened. He feared others' disbelief and or the perpetrator's retaliation if he told anyone. In the aftermath of the assault, plaintiff struggled with intense emotional pain and mental health issues, feeling disgusted and deeply depressed. Plaintiff has experienced a significant impact on his personal life he has never married and often struggles to maintain relationships due to the assault.

Now, John Doe is suing under the New York victims of gender-motivated Violence Protection Act. This is something we've talked about before. So even though this alleged assault happened in 2001, John Doe's legal team is arguing that the GMVA would apply in this case, where the requirement that the crime of violence be committed because of gender or on the basis of gender and do at least in part to an animus based on the victim's gender, that is satisfied, they say, because defendant Combs forced plaintiff to engage in a sexual interaction without consent. Now, there is a look-back window to sue for these kinds of claims because

when under normal circumstances, the statute of limitations would have expired and you can't bring a lawsuit, people can use this now to sue, and they can sue until February 2025. And this protection, by the way, not only allows plaintiffs to recover damages, but they can also recover attorney's fees and costs. That's an advantage here. Now I want to move on to another lawsuit. This one is from a Jane Doe who lives in Maryland now and accuses Sean Combs of sexual assault in 2001. Her complaint states that in 2001, plaintiff, who was 18 years old at the time and her cousin, attended a Halloween party held at Club New Yorker in Manhattan. Combs and his entourage also attended the party and provided drinks to plaintiff and her friends throughout the

night. During the Halloween party, what of Combs security guards escorted plaintiff and two friends to a large black SUV limousine parked within walking distance of the club. They entered the vehicle and saw Combs sitting in the back. At least six members, of Combs' security team were also in the limousine. One of the men handed plaintiff a drink. Minutes later, she began feeling dizzy, intoxicated, and disoriented. She felt as though she was unable to control her own actions. Based on information and belief, Combs by himself or through his agents' employees previously

laced the drink with drugs, including but not limited to GHB and or ecstasy. So you can see similar language here. Combs allegedly ordered her to perform oral sex on one of his security guards, and then she also claims that she was forced to perform oral sex on combs too. Quote, in the aftermath of the assault plaintiff struggled with intense emotional pain and mental health issues, feeling disgusted and deeply depressed, with symptoms of post-traumatic stress. She is also suing for violations of New York City victims of Gender Motivated Violence Protection Act. Another Jane Doe says that she was attacked.

This time in 2004, also in Manhattan, she says she was a 17-year-old model at the time and went to a modeling gig where she was approached by two men who gave her a flyer for a party. The lawsuit says that the party turned out to be one of Defendant Combs' infamous Fourth of July parties at his estate in the Hamptons. Combs Hampton's parties regularly attracted A-list celebrities from across the entertainment, fashion, and business worlds, and this one was no different. The event was lavishly decorated, featured live performances, music performances, and boasted top-tier food and beverages, and atmosphere of opulence and luxury, full of celebrities. Many unsuspecting individuals like plaintiff were recruited to attend at these parties.

When plaintiff arrived, Combs' staff at the front door required her to hand over her purse and her cell phone prior to entering. Now, this is something that we've heard before that guests at Combs' parties had to surrender their phones, and sometimes even it was reported they had to sign non-disclosure agreements before they were allowed in. The complaint continues. Plaintiff recognized numerous celebrities in attendance as she walked around the party. servers circulated through the rooms of the mansions with trays of drinks, and plaintiff decided to have one. Shortly after drinking it, plaintiff began to feel lightheaded and disoriented. Now, what's alarming about that is if that's true, she just took a random drink and it was potentially laced.

I mean, that's the insinuation, right? And that's different than a drink being deliberately handed to her. So again, if true, were all the drinks at this party just laced with drugs? That was my initial impression from this. quote as she grew increasingly disoriented plaintiffs searched for a place to sit she stumbled to a couch and promptly lost consciousness when she awoke plaintiff's underwear was missing and she felt throbbing pains in her private areas let me just say that at this point plaintiff was alone and she cannot find the friend who had accompanied her to the party in a state of panic she began to hyperventilate and cry the complaint goes on to state that combs and two of his bodyguards approached plaintiff and threatened her. Combs told plaintiff that she would be in danger if she spoke about what it occurred, stating that he ran New York and would ruin her. At this point, plaintiff recognized that at least Combs had sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. She feared for her life.

Plaintiff was coerced into agreeing not to contact the police in exchange for the return of her person phone. She agreed out of fear of what would happen if she did not. In the aftermath of the assault, plaintiff experienced and continues to experience intense emotional pain and mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. And Jane Doe also cited the GMVA as her cause of action. Moving on to the fourth new lawsuit, a plaintiff who now lives in Georgia makes claims that he says happened much more recently, 2022 when he was 39 years old, says he went to a ditty party at a large home in New York City. Went with friends, drank alcohol that was provided to him and John Doe says he blacked out when plaintiff regained consciousness he

was in a dark bedroom with black walls on a bed with black sheets everything around him was dark plaintiff was horrified to find combs on top of him sodomizing him plaintiff in a state of shock and confusion forcefully fought combs off and fled the room making his way to a nearby bathroom despite still being in a day's disoriented state plaintiff fled the house in an effort to escape the situation as quickly as possible. He didn't return to the party after the assault, but plaintiff was traumatized by the assault and continues to experience severe emotional distress

as a result of what he endured at Combs' hands. John Doe is also filing under the GMVA. But there is something I have to tell you about this lawsuit, and that is that that lawsuit was just dismissed. Yes, the judge said that the plaintiff here failed to get the court's permission to file this anonymously as a John Doe. This is an issue we've seen before in other cases against Sean Combs, where courts have said the plaintiffs, they have to reveal their identities if they want this to proceed. Here, it seems to be an issue that this plaintiff never even got permission from the court to do so. So we'll see what happens next. Now this brings us to the fifth lawsuit. And that's actually doesn't cite the GMVA as a cause of action. Instead, a Florida John Doe is suing all the plaintiffs for assault and sexual assault. And his lawsuit states in 2022, Plaintiff mingled and spent time with Associates of Combs businesses at a popular Miami nightclub.

He did not consume alcohol at the nightclub. After spending some time with these individuals, an associate of Combs invited plaintiff to an after-hours event being hosted by Combs at a residential home. After arriving, plaintiff entered the residence and joined the other partygoers. Plaintiffs saw about 45 to 50 people, many of whom were recognizable public figures, while mingling and making small talk with others, an associate of Combs approached plaintiff, indicating that Combs wanted to meet with him. The associate took Plaintiff upstairs where Combs greeted him with a drink and offered a tour of the house. Plaintiff obliged and began following Combs around the home. The tour came to an end in a bedroom. Bedroom smelled strongly of marijuana.

Five other individuals, three men, two women, apart from Combs and Plaintiff, were inside of the room as well. As Plaintiff and Combs entered the room, Combs demanded the women perform sexual dances and acts on the other three men. Around this time, plaintiff suddenly felt weak and disoriented, unlike anything. he had ever experienced with alcohol before. As plaintiff's condition worsened and he began to fall in and out of consciousness, plaintiff knew he had been drugged. John Doe says he passed out and when he awoke, he was naked and he says that he saw Combs sexually assaulting him.

Plaintiff recalls, Combs telling him, this is what you want, all while wearing, quote, a disturbing smile. John Doe says that he passed out again and when he woke up, he was still in the bedroom, but he was alone. Plaintiff woke the next morning in the same bedroom alone, almost immediately as if someone could see inside of the room through a camera or other device, a member of Combs security team entered,

handed plaintiff his clothes, and instructed him to get dressed and prepare to leave the residence. That's interesting and frightening because we've heard from various people in these civil lawsuits that Combs had had cameras all over his house and was obsessive about filming things. But again, this John Doe is suing for assault and sexual assault under flaw.

Florida law. Defending Combs with the assistance and conspiracy of his businesses intentionally or knowingly caused physical contact, including the sexual assault with plaintiff when defending Combs knew and should have known that plaintiff would regard such contact as offensive. By the way, you sue the businesses, not just Sean Combs. Obviously, he's very wealthy, but you go after the businesses. They have deeper pockets, too. By the way, one of the reasons he might be suing for assault and sexual assault is there might not be a statute of limitations issue. This is just a few years ago. And you also might say these assault claims, taking everything as true are more straightforward to prove.

By the way, speaking of Tony Busby, he has gotten himself into a bit of hot water recently. We've talked about this because in prior lawsuits that were filed by him on behalf of alleged victims, he has named people like Celebrity A or Celebrity B, who in one case allegedly participated in assaults. And Busby had previously promised that he was going to expose A-list people

that were allegedly involved in Combs' criminal activity. But so far that hasn't. that hasn't happened. And an anonymous prominent person says that is because Tony Busby is extorting the high profile people. This person identified as John Doe says that Tony Busby is making up false stories about serious crimes like sexual assault and rape and then threatened to tell the public and file lawsuits if these people don't pay up. It's basically extortion. Settle or you get named. Settle or you get exposed. And there was a lawsuit that was filed in Los Angeles on Monday by this John Doe, and he describes himself as just a high-profile individual

who knows he diddy, and he's attended events with him. He's being represented by Quinn Emanuel, a very powerful law firm, and the firm released a statement about the lawsuit saying, Busby has established a pattern of leveling baseless, fabricated, and malicious allegations at high-profile individuals and threatening to name them publicly if they fail to pay exorbitant sums of money. Busby then uses this money to fund his lavish lifestyle. He is deplorable. these threats and letters, statements to the press, his website, and on social media in recent months to try to shake down these well-known individuals. Tony Busby denied the accusations, fired back, saying the lawsuit is just an attempt to stop him from doing his job, and he released a statement

to the Houston Chronicle saying these claims are without legal merit, that they're laughable. He said, we won't allow the powerful and their high-dollar lawyers to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors. It is obvious that the frivolous lawsuit filed against my firm is an aggressive attempt to intimidate or silence me and ultimately my clients. That effort is a gross miscalculation. I'm a U.S. Marine. I won't be silenced or intimidated. And I actually spoke with former prosecutor Melba Pearson this week about this and how she would fight this if it were her. It is standard in terms of reaching out and saying, hey, listen, I've been contacted by, you know, someone who is looking to file a lawsuit against you, whatever. Here's where we think we're going.

Do you want to settle? Let's settle right now before we eat. put anyone through this drama before we have to make the survivor testify before we have to do depositions and go through the whole process. Maybe we could just settle right off the back. That's that's normal, right? But then, but that fear, and I'm with you on that, Jesse, that fear of I could fight this, but I'm going to lose so much more in the long run, that could be a deterrent and would make someone pay up. But at the same token, I'm hopeful that if you are wrongfully being accused of this i mean if it was me heaven forbid i think i would go on the offensive and like name myself i would come out and say listen i have been you know tony busby

reached out to me saying that so and so alleged that i did xyz to them i category deny it and basically you come out on the offensive before anything gets filed so that could maybe deter the case from moving forward possibly and by the way you can check out that full interview with Melba over on our long crime YouTube channel. Love talking to Melba, she's the best. So for now, it's unclear what impact, if any, these explosive lawsuits will have on Sean Combs

federal case. It's very likely that the government investigators have spoken with these alleged victims, or they will be, as they build their racketeering and sex trafficking case against Sean Combs. Obviously, if there's a superseding indictment, that could all change. But for now, by the way,

Combs only faces potential civil liability for these alleged acts in these lawsuits, not criminal charges, but we will see what happens next. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.