Editor's note: Follow live updates on Sean “Diddy” Combs' arrest.
CNN
,
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who faced multiple sexual assault lawsuits and a federal investigation into human trafficking last year, has been arrested, the producer's attorney told CNN.
Combs was arrested Monday night at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan and taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations, a source familiar with the negotiations for his surrender told CNN.
The charges against Combs and details of the case are unclear.
The arrest is based on an indictment that is expected to be released Tuesday morning, according to a statement from Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, including human trafficking, terrorism, drug smuggling, and other organized criminal activities.
Combs has been in New York since last week, his lawyer said. Negotiations for his surrender were underway, and a grand jury voted to indict him on Monday, according to the source.
“We are disappointed by this decision and what appears to be an unfair prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office,” Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told CNN.
Combs' attorney said the musician is cooperating with the investigation that led to his indictment and “voluntarily moved to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.” His team maintains his innocence and says he has “nothing to hide.”
“Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, loving his children and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect man, but not a criminal,” Agnifilo told CNN.
Agnifolo asked people to “please reserve judgement until you have all the facts. These are the actions of an innocent man who has nothing to hide, and he is eager to clear his name in court.”
Earlier this year, Combs became the target of a months-long sex trafficking investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations agency, which resulted in dramatic searches of the musician’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March.
After the home was raided, a law enforcement source told CNN that the federal investigation stems from multiple allegations of sexual assault leveled in several civil lawsuits against the producer. CNN learned that the scope of the investigation is much broader, focusing on sex trafficking, money laundering and illegal drugs.
Combs has been hit with 10 lawsuits since last November, nine of which directly accuse him of sexual assault. As CNN previously reported, several of those accusers have met with federal investigators for questioning as part of a wide-ranging probe.
CNN exclusively reported in May that federal investigators were preparing to bring Combs' accusers before a federal grand jury to testify — a significant development in the government's investigation that indicated the Justice Department was moving toward indicting the rapper and businessman.
Combs has previously denied all wrongdoings alleged in various lawsuits. However, he publicly apologized earlier this year after CNN exclusively released surveillance footage that showed Combs brutally attacking his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.
“In response to the numerous inquiries we have received regarding the Sean Combs indictment, neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment,” Douglas Wigdor, the attorney representing Ventura, said in a statement Tuesday.
“We appreciate your understanding, and if there are any changes, we will certainly let you know,” Wigdor told CNN.
An attorney for Combs' three accusers — Lil Rod, April Lampros and Grace O'Markeaigh — called the arrest “long awaited.”
“We are leaving the criminal aspect of this case in the hands of the people and the justice system,” attorney Tyrone Blackburn said in a statement Monday night. “As for the civil matters, we are waiting for the facts to come out and for justice to be served for our clients.”
Blackburn said he expects more victims to come forward.
“We knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear and it was only a matter of time. This is an important step toward justice for all of Mr. Combs' victims, including my clients. Justice will prevail,” Blackburn said.
While it's unclear what evidence and allegations led to Combs' arrest, the artist has been hit with multiple civil lawsuits over the past year, all but one of which include sexual assault allegations against him.
Just last week, Dawn Richards, former member of the music group Danity Kane, filed a lawsuit in New York in which she accused the producer of sexual assault, sexual harassment and false imprisonment, among other things.
Richard also alleged in the lawsuit that he saw Combs “brutally beat” Ventura, who filed his own suit against Combs in November 2023 and quickly settled.
One of Combs' attorneys, Erica Wolfe, denied Richard's allegations in a statement to CNN and accused Richard of doing so with a financial motive.
Aubrey O'Day, another former Danity Kane member, reacted to the news of Combs' arrest in a post on Monday night.
“The purpose of justice is to provide closure and give us the space to create a new chapter. Women never get that. I feel validated. Today is a victory not just for me, but for women all over the world. Things are finally changing,” O'Day wrote.
Like Ventura, Danity Kane was represented by Combs' Bad Boy label.
Combs has also repeatedly denied the allegations made by Ventura, who said Combs raped her and subjected her to physical and other forms of abuse over a period of years. However, Combs was seen grabbing, pushing, dragging and kicking Ventura in a 2016 video published by CNN earlier this year. Two days after the video was published, Combs apologized for his actions seen in the recording.
“It's very hard to reflect on the worst time of your life, but sometimes you have to do it,” Combs said in a video statement posted on Instagram. “I was very upset — I went through a very bad time — but I can't make any excuses. My behavior in that video is inexcusable.”
He added: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disappointed. I was disappointed when I did it. I'm disappointed now.”
The music giant has been facing public scrutiny since his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided in March, which came just weeks after Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a lawsuit against him.
According to the complaint filed in New York federal court, Jones, who worked as a videographer and producer for Combs, has accused Combs of sexual assault, sexual harassment and “seduction” and claims she has video and audio recordings of the musician and his employees “engaging in serious illegal activity.”
Among other allegations, Jones has claimed Combs forced her to bring in and interact with sex workers, threatened her, and served drugs in alcoholic drinks to guests attending a party at his house.
Combs' attorney, Shawn Holley, denied the allegations in a statement to CNN and called Jones a “liar.”
“His reckless name-calling of events that are entirely fictitious and never occurred is nothing more than a transparent attempt to grab headlines. We have strong and indisputable evidence that his claims are completely false,” Holley said in the statement.
He is named as a defendant in one of the 10 lawsuits filed against Combs, but another makes a sexual assault claim against Combs' son, Christian Combs, by a woman who worked as a yacht crew member.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN's Kara Scannell, John Miller and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this report misstated the date the indictment against Sean Combs was issued. It's Tuesday.