Sean “Diddy” Combs loses $100 million default judgment over sexual assault allegations | Sean “Diddy” Combs

A man who accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual harassment has been awarded $100 million in compensation after the rapper, music producer and businessman failed to deny the allegations in a Michigan civil court.

Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, 51, obtained the remarkably large judgment after filing a lawsuit describing how he encountered Combs while working in the restaurant and catering industry near Detroit.

According to the Detroit Metro Times, Cardello-Smith claimed he was both drugged and sexually assaulted by Combs at a party in Detroit in 1997. This is just one of the allegations in a larger series of alleged sexual abuse and other misconduct by the three-time Grammy winner, formerly known as P Diddy, Puff Daddy and Love.

Cardello-Smith, who is incarcerated, eventually filed suit over the alleged attack, providing information that showed Combs' name on a prison visitation log. And at an Aug. 7 preliminary hearing conducted virtually, Cardello-Smith testified that Combs offered him $2.3 million if he dropped his lawsuit, which would allow the music mogul to complete a real estate sale.

The plaintiff testified that Combs, 54, told him he would not admit Cardello-Smith's claims in court and said, “You know how we're going to proceed.” Cardello-Smith said he told Combs, “Well, I don't agree with how you're going to proceed,” and rejected the settlement offer.

Lenawee County District Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone then issued an order preventing Combs from selling assets that could help him cover any damages claims against Cardello-Smith. When Combs failed to appear for a virtual hearing in Cardello-Smith's lawsuit on Monday, Anzalone awarded the plaintiff a $100 million default judgment, the Metro Times first reported.

Plaintiffs receive a default judgment in their favor when defendants fail to respond to the lawsuits brought against them.

According to court records, Cardello-Smith is incarcerated at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility after multiple previous convictions for sexual abuse. The Metro Times reported that while incarcerated, he taught himself criminal and civil law while developing “a long history of engaging with the justice system” through lawsuits.

Combs is not the only high-profile defendant named in one of these lawsuits. Another is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. One lawsuit alleges that two of the organization's priests and one of its lay staff sexually abused Cardello-Smith between 1979 – when he was about seven years old – and 1993.

It was not immediately clear how easily Cardello-Smith could enforce his judgment against Combs, although the plaintiff told Metro Times he has been in contact with the defendant “for a long time.”

Combs faced several other lawsuits accusing him of rape, sexual assault, other instances of physical violence and distribution of “revenge porn.” He initially denied all allegations and promised to “fight” to clear his name.

However, in May, CNN obtained and released hotel security camera video showing him abusing singer Cassie Ventura – his girlfriend at the time – in 2016. Ventura had sued Combs for damages several months earlier, accusing him of rape and severe physical abuse during a relationship that had since ended. Combs paid an undisclosed sum to settle Ventura's claims out of court within a day of filing the lawsuit.

The May video strongly contradicted Combs' denials. And two days after its release, Combs released a video apology.

In March, federal authorities raided Combs' properties in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking investigation. Investigators have not charged Combs, although several media outlets reported Monday that he had put the raided Los Angeles home up for sale for $61.5 million.