Sean “Diddy” Combs arrested in New York after federal indictment

NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul facing a barrage of sexual assault allegations from women, was arrested late Monday in New York after being indicted by a federal grand jury.

The indictment remained sealed and details of the charges were not immediately released by prosecutors, but U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Damian Williams confirmed in a statement that federal agents had Combs in custody.

“We expect to release the indictment tomorrow morning and will have more to say then,” Williams said in a statement.

Combs was arrested in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel, according to a person familiar with the arrest who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said Combs was cooperating with the investigation and moved to New York last week in anticipation of possible indictment.

“We are disappointed by the U.S. Attorney's decision to continue what we believe is an unjustified prosecution of Mr. Combs,” Agnifilo said, describing his client as a music icon and “loving family man.”

“He is an imperfect human being, but not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement, adding: “Please reserve your judgment until you know all the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man who has nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

The criminal complaint represents a serious but not unexpected attack on one of the most significant producers and famous names in hip-hop history.

The federal investigation into Combs, 58, came to light when Department of Homeland Security agents simultaneously executed search warrants and raided Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

A day after the raids, his lawyer Aaron Dyer described them as “a gross use of military force” and said the allegations were “baseless”.

Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, was at the center of hip-hop's East Coast-West Coast battle in the 1990s as a partner and producer of the Notorious BIG, who was shot in 1997. But like many who survived that era, his public image had mellowed with age. Today, he is a genteel party promoter in Hollywood and the Hamptons, a fashion-conscious businessman and a loving father who spoils his children, some of whom lost their mothers in 2018.

But in November a different picture emerged when his former protégé and his girlfriend, RandB-singer Cassie was the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse, reporting a steady stream of sex workers in drug-fueled environments where some of those involved were forced or persuaded to have sex.

In her November lawsuit, Cassie alleged years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Her lawsuit also alleged that Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “compelling her to perform coercive sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and by “harboring and transporting the plaintiff for the purposes of sex induced by force, fraud or coercion.”

It also says that he forced her to help him traffic male sex workers, with whom Combs then wanted Cassie to have sex while he was filming.

The case was settled the next day, but the aftermath lingered much longer. Combs lost his last allies, supporters and those who were still holding out for judgment when CNN aired a leaked video in May of him punching, kicking and throwing Cassie to the ground in a hotel hallway.

The next day, in a social media video, Combs posted his first real admission of wrongdoing since the flood of allegations began, apologizing: “I was disgusted when I did it” and “I'm still disgusted now.” Cassie's lawsuit was followed by at least a half dozen more in the months that followed.

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of forcing him to solicit prostitutes and pressuring him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs' accusers was a woman who claimed the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

April Lampros, another woman who filed the lawsuit, said she met Combs as a college student in 1994 and that there were a series of “terrifying sexual encounters” with Combs and those around him that lasted for years.

Combs and his lawyers denied almost all of the allegations in the lawsuit.

While authorities did not publicly state that the lawsuits triggered the criminal investigation, Dyer stated in serving the warrants that the case was based on “baseless allegations in civil litigation.”

The AP typically does not name people who report sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as was the case with Cassie and Lampros.

As founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs became one of the most influential hip-hop producers and managers of the past three decades. In addition to Notorious BIG, he has worked with a number of high-profile artists, including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

When the allegations emerged, Combs' role in his business ventures outside of music – including lucrative private label liquor, a media company and the Sean John clothing line – took a major blow.

The consequences were even more severe when the leaked video of the beating surfaced. Howard University cut ties with him and he returned his key to the City of New York at the mayor's request.

Combs has been arrested several times before and was at the center of one of the hip-hop industry's biggest trials of its time decades ago.

The trial was prompted by a shooting in a Manhattan nightclub in 1999 in which three people were injured. His girlfriend at the time, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, was also present when the shots were fired.

Combs was eventually acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun to the club and attempted to bribe his driver to take the blame for the gun. His protégé at the time, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges related to the shooting and served about eight years in prison. He now serves as a member of the House of Representatives in his native Belize under the name Moses Barrow.

Also in 1999, Combs was arrested for allegedly beating up a record executive in New York. Combs pleaded guilty to harassment, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to anger management classes.

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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.