Law&Crime Sidebar - 13 Disturbing Details in P. Diddy's Indictment Revealed After Rapper's Arrest

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

Rap superstar and business mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, 54, has been indicted by a grand jury in New York on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Prosecutors allege Combs used his influence, wealth, and fame to bend victims to his will. Combs’ legal team says the accusations against Combs are baseless. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down the legal arguments both sides made in the indictment and letters to the judge regarding bail.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/sidebar to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest 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.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City. Today, he's been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York. One of the most famous names in the hip-hop world is now facing three charges in federal court. Many people have come forward in recent months to accuse Sean Diddy Combs of abuse, sex trafficking, drug possession, and more. But now the federal government is getting involved and promising to bring down the rat mogul's alleged criminal empire. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber.

This office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking. No matter how powerful or wealthy or famous. you may be. No one should doubt our commitment on that. Talk about a day in the legal and crime world. And today, it all centers around Sean Diddy Combs and all of these details and filings in his new criminal case. And we're going to break it down for you right now. I'll give you everything you need to know. So the Southern District of New York is promising justice for multiple victims who say that rapper, producer, businessman Combs used his power, influence, and wealth to, to intimidate them into doing his bidding, whether that was obtaining drugs or performing

sexually or cleaning up after a parent sex acts. Now, we've of course been reporting on Combs for months here on Sidebar. In November of last year, Cassandra Ventura, Cassie, Combs' ex, filed a huge lawsuit against him claiming that he abused her physically, sexually, emotionally for years before she was finally able to get away. Now, Combs denied everything she had to say in her filing, settled the lawsuit with her just one day after it was filed, but we know that set off a chain reaction. Multiple other lawsuits against him and even against his son were filed, alleging sexual abuse, sex trafficking,

illegal narcotics possession, violence. Then in March of this year, Homeland Security agents, they show up at Combs' homes in both Miami and Los Angeles, search warrants in hand. They raided both locations, seemingly collecting a huge amount of evidence, which we will get through in a moment. And we learned at the time that this was connected to a sex trafficking investigation out of the Southern District of New York. But we didn't know all the exact details. Well, you fast forward to this week and Combs was officially arrested Monday night at the Park Hyatt Hotel in New York out in Manhattan. According to his defense team, he had been booked there since September 5th. That was nearly two weeks ago. And he was in town in anticipation of the

charges being filed, which is important because now that Combs is has been arrested in charge, he says this is an example to show he's not a flight risk. He's been cooperative. However, when U.S. attorney Damien Williams, again from the Southern District of New York, held a press conference and was asked about Combs' cooperation in this case, he seems skeptical. Let me just say this. I think that generally, with increasing frequency, the word cooperative or cooperating has taken on tremendous elasticity and no longer really bears.

any relation to what the word means when we use it in a very specific context. So responding to lawful process and the like does not qualify as cooperation when we use that term here. By the way, as we sort through all these legal filings around Sean Combs and there's a lot to get into, can I just take a quick second to tell you guys about something positive? Yeah, something that I think you're actually going to really love. Would you want cash back when you buy gas and groceries? Because if you do, that's where our amazing partner and sponsor of Sidebar comes in. Upside. So this is a free app that,

honestly, so easy to use. Upside gets you real cashback, real cashback, money that appears in your upside app that you can transfer straight into your bank account. Just this weekend, I used upside to find a gas station, I claimed an offer, I pay with my credit card at the pump, and then I followed the steps on the app to get cash back. It is so simple to use and free. So why not get cash back? And you can use Upside at all different kinds of places, restaurants, convenience stores. So to find out how much you could earn, click the link in the description to download Upside or scan the QR code on screen and use our promo code sidebar and you'll get an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. Hope you can check it out.

Now, there are still questions about future filings, possible charges against co-conspirators, whether Combs will be hit with additional charges. What we do know is we are now getting a look at what the prosecution believes they can prove. And that brings me to this major indictment against Sean Combs. So, prosecutors filed documents in federal court that lay out the accusations against Combs and his associates. Although, to be clear, Combs is the only one named in this filing for now. He faces three charges, racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Now, during a hearing on Tuesday, Combs entered a not guilty plea to every charge.

And if he is convicted of all charges, Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison with the possibility that the 54-year-old could spend the rest of his life behind bars. That's what we're talking about here. So we're going to break down each of these counts for you, as well as more on why Combs says he should be allowed out on bail while he waits trial. And let's start with the indictment. It's 14 pages. jam-pack with information, I want to hit the highlights.

So first, right out of the gate, the government lays out some pretty damning accusations. Quote, for decades, Sean Combs, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, Kiddie, Ditty, Kiddie, AK-P-D-D-D-Love. They throughout the course of this indictment referred to him by his many monikers. The defendant, abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct. To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and influence of the multifaceted business empire that he led and controlled, creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction

of justice. Which brings me now to count one, racketeering conspiracy. So the main idea here is that there is a criminal agreement, an agreement to engage in racketeering. And racketeering is when there is a criminal enterprise. It's like organized crime, a grouping of people who break the law. They commit crimes. Now it doesn't need to be Sean Combs breaks the law LLC. You don't need an official company. Just an organized group of people, organized crime. And a criminal enterprise is supposed to have a common goal. So whether it was to benefit financially, whether it was to satisfy Sean Combs' sexual desires, whether it was to protect him, there has to be a common goal in mind.

We saw this. We're seeing this, actually, I should say, in the Young Thug trial out of Georgia. Big thing for the prosecution is they have listed a number of different crimes. They're trying to say this wasn't done in an individual capacity, but it was done to further that gang. Similar idea here. Okay. Now, also, as you're going to see here, in a racketeering case, there are numerous

predicate crimes. These are underlying crimes that Combs is not specifically charged with, like arson or kidnapping or forced labor, but they are crimes under the umbrella of the larger criminal enterprise. By the way, I should tell you, the racketeering allegations that we see in this indictment are very consistent with the allegations put forward by Rodney Little Rod Jones, Combs' former producer, who was one of the people that filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him and said there were violations of racketeering law. In fact, although no one is specifically named in this indictment, you can kind of see who those alleged victims of Combs are, their allegations, that they were the basis for the charges here, especially

Cassandra Ventura. Because we all know that when that video back in 2016 was released by CNN a few months ago of Sean Combs purportedly beating Cassandra Ventura in a hotel elevator bank that was publicized for the whole world to see and he apologized for in Instagram. That is mentioned specifically in this indictment. Now, reading from the indictment, it says, quote, the defendant and others known and unknown participated in unlawful and other activities related to the conduct of the Combs' Enterprises Affairs. These individuals included certain Combs' business employees,

such as members of Combs' security staff, household staff, personal assistance, and high-ranking supervisors, as well as other close associates of Combs. Now, one of the most startling examples of Combs alleged control over those around him came from the description of apparent sex parties called Freakoffs. This is something that Ventura and others alleged in their lawsuits. What are they? Well, the indictment says Combs and other members and associates of the Combs Enterprise wielded the power and prestige of Combs' role at the Combs' business to intimidate, threaten,

and lure female victims into Combs' orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs then used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, freak-offs. Freak-offs were elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, I'm not going to say the next part, basically, pleasured himself during, and often electronically recorded. In arranging these freak-offs, combs with the assistance of members and associates of the Combs Enterprise transported and caused to be transported commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally. Freak-offs occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days.

and often involved multiple commercial sex workers. So this is also kind of a flavor of the sex trafficking charge, which we'll get to a little bit later. During freakoffs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant. Sometimes, unbeknownst to the victims, Combs kept videos he filmed the victims engaging in sex acts with commercial sex workers. After Freakoffs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids

to recover from the physical exertion and drug use. The indictment then provides more details about what Combs expected his employees to do before, during, and after these sessions. Now, Combs did not do this all on his own. As I mentioned, Combs has been charged with RICO conspiracy. He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way. Those individuals allegedly included high-ranking supervisors in the business, personal assistance, security staff, and household staff. The indictment alleges that those individuals facilitated the freak-offs.

They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens, and lighting. When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. They arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the freak-offs, and they delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers. According to the indictment, in or about March of 2024, during searches of Combs' residences in Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles,

California law enforcement seized various freak-off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant. Wow, you talk about physical evidence here to prove these claims. Now, federal prosecutors allege that Combs use the threat of violence as well as actual assaults to keep his alleged victims in line. The indictment reads, quote, combs maintained control over his victims through, among other things, physical violence, promises of career opportunities, granting and threatening to withhold financial support, and by other coercive means, including tracking their whereabouts, dictating the victim's appearance, monitoring their medical records, controlling their housing, and supplying them with controlled substances. During and separate from freakoffs, Combs, among other things, hit, kicked through objects at, and dragged victims at times by their hair. These assaults are, often resulted in injuries that took days or weeks to heal. Combs also threatened victims' careers and livelihoods, including if they resisted participating in freakoffs. So a majority of that indictment covers that first count racketeering conspiracy. Now I want to talk quickly about the other two counts that he faces.

So count two is a charge of sex trafficking of the victim by using force or coercion or fraud to have that person engage in commercial sex acts, sex acts that are either for money or something of value is promised or given, and there were allegations that Combs had made promises of opportunities and so forth to get what he wanted. He's also charged with count three, which is related to the transportation of people for purposes of prostitution. Now, quick side note about this. This is a comprehensive indictment, but it doesn't have a lot of details about what evidence prosecutors have to prove all of this. It also doesn't include every allegation that has been asserted against Combs in numerous civil

complaints. For instance, there is nothing regarding minors. You know, there's been a lot of allegations that there were minors at these Combs parties, which we had heard before in these other allegations and these other complaints. Nothing about minors here. Now, Damien Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that it's possible more charges could be on the way. He wouldn't confirm it one way or another, said nothing's off the table, so we don't know. But maybe there wasn't enough evidence to prove that there were minors at these parties. or Combs did anything criminal related to minors. But I tell you what, we did get a lot more information from another filing from the prosecution.

I'll get to that in a second. First, I have to get to the defense because in a letter filed with the court on Tuesday, Combs' defense team laid out a proposed bail package for their client, why he should be released pending trial. And they explained why his actions over the last six months point toward cooperation, not avoidance. They also call out the government for seemingly making things more difficult than they had be. His team writes, quote, through counsel, Mr. Combs promptly told the government that he had voluntarily come to New York, offered to tell them specifically where he was, and offered to

turn himself in at the appropriate time. Even though Mr. Combs came to New York, authorized his lawyers to tell the government of his location and offered to self-surrender, the government affected an arrest last evening. This, we know, is the government's right. However, that he traveled to New York to self-surrender is also something the court should consider. So what is this bail package that the defense outlines? Well, here are some of the main points. One, a 50 million bond co-signed by Combs, his mother, his sister, the mother of his eldest daughter, and his three adult sons, that 50 million would be secured by the equity in Combs' Miami home. The praise value of that home on Star Island is 48 million. So in other words, this is what he's saying. You can secure

this. You can know that I'm not going to flee the country. I'm not going to break the bail conditions. I'm putting this home up. The defense says that Combs paid off the remaining mortgage $18 million so he could use it to secure a bond. The equity in his mother's home in Miami could also be used as collateral. And the letter goes on to say that Combs travel would be restricted to the Southern District of Florida and the Southern District of New York. Combs apparently surrendered his passport to his attorneys right after the raids on his home and several of his family members, including his children, have surrendered their passports too. Combs Council says he is currently working on selling his private planes, so he would be able to just jet off to some exotic locale

that has no extradition with the United States. In the bail package information, it's also revealed that Combs wants to be under house arrest and would agree to GPS monitoring. The letter from Combs' attorneys also fires back at the assistant U.S. attorneys working on the case, saying they reached out to him in the days before the raids, but never got any reply. And then on March 25th, agent swooped in with a big show of force, which the attorneys insist was unnecessary. The filing also goes into Combs' philanthropic works, including his work with the Boys and Girls Club of America, his donations to open a charter school in New York, and his work fundraising to get PPE for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the document, the defense team states, Sean Combs has never evaded, avoided, avoided, or run from a challenge in his life.

He will not start now. As he has handled every hardship, he will meet this case head on. he will work hard to defend himself and he will prevail. Now, the prosecution had a different view. So the prosecution team also sent a letter to the judge defending their assertion that Combs should be locked up with no bail. Their letter states, quote, as reflected by the gravity of the charges in the indictment,

the defendant is dangerous and poses an ongoing threat to the safety of the community. If released, he remains a serious risk of flight despite the conditions offered by his counsel. Most glaringly, the defendant also poses a significant risk of obstructing justice. The letter also goes into more detail about some of those specific situations that Combs was allegedly involved in that point to the lengths he would reportedly go to to get what he wanted. For example, quote, the defendant ensured the victims would participate in freakoffs through coercion and violence. For instance, the defendant provided

controlled substances, including ketamine, ecstasy, GHB to female victims so that they could and would continue to engage in freak-offs despite fatigue, physical and emotional exhaustion and pain. Additionally, both during freak-offs and separate from freak-offs, the defendant subjected female victims to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse in part to cause them to engage in freak-offs. The defendant hit, kicked through objects at, and dragged female victims, sometimes by their hair, at least a dozen witnesses, will confirm that they personally observe the defendant's violence towards women and or the injury sustained by women at the defendant's hand. Back to that 2016 video that I mentioned of Combs allegedly attacking Cassandra Ventura out in

L.A., they say in this letter, prosecution, they claim that Combs use money and influence to try to keep that video from getting out. Quote, when a member of hotel security staff intervened, the defendant attempted to offer their hotel security officer a stack of cash to ensure his silence. After the security guard refused the defendant's bribe and after coordination between the defendant and his employees, the defendant's staff contacted other members of hotel security. Within days of the incident, the surveillance video disappeared from the hotel's server. Now, this is the exact allegations put forward by Cassandra Ventura, which makes you wonder,

is she one of the cooperating witnesses with the government? You have to believe so. And clearly, there is something to be said that the prosecutors here are believing the account of Ventura and possibly these other alleged Ventura. victims. It's not just them filing a lawsuit against Sean Combs. They are believing these allegations to substantiate criminal charges. That's big. Now, the letter also references another alleged incident that was first revealed in Ventura's lawsuit last fall when she alleged that Combs set fire to fellow recording artist Kid Cuddy's car when he seemed to show interest

in Ventura. According to the filing, quote, in the early morning hours of December 22nd, 2011. The defendant and a co-conspirator kidnapped an individual at gunpoint to facilitate breaking into and entering the residence of individual one. Multiple witnesses would testify a trial to the events surrounding the kidnapping and break-in, the latter of which is corroborated by police reports and other records. Approximately two weeks later, the defendant's co-conspirators set fire to individual one's vehicle by slicing open the car's convertible top and dropping a Molotov cocktail inside the interior. Police and fire department reports extensive. document the arson and conclude that the fire was intentionally set.

Multiple witnesses would also testify to the defendant bragging about his role in destroying individual one's car. So again, prosecutors really taking Cassandra Ventura's allegations as true. And again, while he's not specifically charged with arson, that is a part of the racketeering charge. Goes on, the prosecution, they raised concerns about Combs' access to weapons as well, especially firearms. The letter includes photographs of weapons found in Combs' homes. Again, this is all the reason why they believe he should be denied bail. In March of 2024, during searches of the defendant's residences in Miami, Florida, in Los Angeles, California, law enforcement seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s,

each with defaced serial numbers as well as a large-capacity drum magazine. As pictured in a close-up image, the serial number of one of the AR-15s is visibly bored through and obscured. By the way, that in and of itself is a federal crime. We did an episode about the recent potential shooting of former President Donald Trump. That individual is charged with that crime. The filing goes on to state, quote, two of the three defaced AR-15s were found in the defendant's Miami bedroom closet stored, broken down in parts along with magazines that were loaded with ammunition.

In addition, six legally purchased guns with serial numbers, some of which were stored in gun safes, were recovered from the defendant's residences. Now, from there, in this bailout, letter, Combs is also accused of trying to influence witnesses. Prosecutor state, quote, specifically following the November 2023 lawsuit. The defendant and intermediaries acting on his behalf reached out to potential victims and witnesses to the alleged conduct, including individuals he did not speak to regularly and did not spoken to in years to attempt to feed those victims

and witnesses false narratives about the defendant's criminal conduct. For example, on or about November 19, 23. Just three days after the filing of the lawsuit described above, this is the Cassandra Ventura one, the defendant made multiple calls to another victim of his sexual abuse and recorded certain of those calls under the cell phone using the cell phone of a co-conspirator. During the calls, the defendant repeatedly asked for the victim's support and friendship and attempted to convince the victim that she had willingly engaged in acts constituting sexual abuse. The defendant also assured the victim that if she needed the defendant to, she ain't got to worry about nothing else.

Quote, even more concerning since learning about the criminal investigation, including following the execution of the search warrants at his residences, Combs contacted other witnesses on multiple occasions, including other witnesses who had received grand jury subpoenas, basically accusing him of obstruction. And by the way, the prosecution also points out that many of the crimes that Combs is accused of happened in his home. So putting him on house arrest, they would say,

doesn't do much to mitigate potential wrongdoing inside his residence. Now they talk about the weight of the evidence, how much they have. Remember I said there wasn't a lot in the indictment? Well, here they talk about the weight of the evidence as a factor to consider and whether to deny bail. Quote, as to witnesses, to date, the government has conducted interviews with over 50 victims and witnesses, many of whom saw or experienced the defendant's abuse. Many of these witnesses corroborate one another and their accounts are consistent with

the other types of evidence discussed below. The government only expects that number to continue to grow given that the investigation, which is now public, is ongoing. And also, the prosecution revealed in its filing that the government has seized more than 90 cell phones, laptops, cloud storage accounts, hard drives, thumb drives, cameras, a surveillance system that they say shows this criminal activity. So based on that, we can assume that the evidence the Southern District of New York has against Combs is likely vast.

The evidence also consists of physical evidence, which was seized pursuant to search warrants executed at the defendant's residences in Los Angeles and Miami, as well as on his person and the persons of certain co-conspirators. In addition to the firearms and electronics discussed above, the physical evidence also includes other evidence of freak-offs, including over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant. Pretty disgusting. Now, the prosecution ends their letter to the judge by saying, quote, there are no conditions of bail that would assure the appearance and compliance of the defendant or the safety

of others. Accordingly, any application for bail should be denied. A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City. Today, he's been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York. Second, we are not done. This investigation is ongoing, and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly. Anyone with information can call 1-8774-HSI tip. I want to express my deep appreciation for the victims and witnesses who have used their voices and helped bring this criminal conduct to light. We would not be here without them. So what happened? Well, there was a hearing in front of the Honorable Robin F. Tarnovsky, a magistrate judge from the Southern District of New York,

and arguments for and against bail were put forward by the process. and the defense. And remember, there is actually a presumption of detainment in this case. And the judge reportedly said that after listening to all the evidence, that the presumption has not been rebutted, meaning that Sean Combs is denied bail. He must remain behind bars. She reportedly said there was a significant amount of violence and weapons. There was the allegation of coercion of witnesses. And even though she seemed to thank his family for coming, she cannot release him at this time. Now, we will, of course, keep you updated on any and all developments in this case of Sean Diddy Combs, as it inches now even closer to a criminal trial.

All right, everybody, that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.