Sources tell ABC News that Sean “Diddy” Combs taken into federal custody in NYC

NEW YORK (WABC) — Multiple sources told ABC News that Sean “Diddy” Combs was taken into federal custody in New York City on Monday evening.

In a statement, his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Combs had moved to New York in anticipation of the indictment and was trying to clear his name in court.

“We are disappointed in the U.S. Attorney's decision to continue to prosecute Mr. Combs, which we believe is an unjustified prosecution. Sean “Diddy” Combs is a music icon, a self-made entrepreneur, a loving family man, and a proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and advocating for the advancement of the Black community. He is not a perfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has fully cooperated with this investigation and voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve judgment until you know all of the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

The charges remain sealed.

In July, Combs faced new sex trafficking allegations in a lawsuit filed by a former porn star, who also named a woman accused of being to “Diddy” what Ghislaine Maxwell was to Jeffrey Epstein.

Adria English, who performed under the name Omunique, said she had “lived her entire adult life with the memory of being trapped in a cycle of sex trafficking that she never wanted to be a part of, and she was chosen because the defendant Combs knew he could manipulate her.”

This was at least the tenth lawsuit against Combs accusing him of physical abuse and sex trafficking.

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, R&B singer Cassie was the first of several people to sue him for sexual abuse, with reports of a steady stream of sex workers in drug-filled 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 alleges that Combs engaged in sex trafficking by “forcing her to perform coercive sexual acts in multiple jurisdictions” and “harboring and transporting the plaintiff for the purposes of sex induced by force, fraud or coercion.” It also says he forced her to help him traffic male sex workers, with whom Combs forced Cassie to have sex while he filmed.

The case was settled the next day, but its aftermath lasted much longer. Combs lost his last allies, supporters and those who had yet to pass 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.

Another woman who filed the lawsuit, April Lampos, said she met Combs as a college student in 1994 and had 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.

Although authorities did not publicly state that the complaints marked the beginning of a 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.

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