Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was arrested after a year of intensifying allegations. How we got here
By Elizabeth Wolfe, Elizabeth Wagmeister and Josh Campbell, CNN
(CNN) — Diddy’s legal troubles keep growing.
In the past 11 months, music magnate Sean “Diddy” Combs has faced crescendoing allegations of abuse and sexual assault, culminating in at least 10 civil lawsuits, a federal human trafficking probe and his arrest and indictment.
Prosecutors unsealed the three-count indictment against Combs on September 17, accusing the artist of orchestrating “a criminal enterprise” through his business empire that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping and decades of physical abuse against women, among other allegations.
Combs pleaded not guilty to each count: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to life in prison. He remains in federal custody, held without bail, with his next court appearance scheduled for October 9.
Dozens of witnesses to Combs’ alleged abuses have cooperated in the federal investigation, which led to the dramatic raids of Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes in March, prosecutors said.
In addition to Combs’ legal troubles, he has been dealt several personal and public blows in reaction to the accusations, including being stripped of his honorary Howard University degree and symbolic key to New York City.
Here’s a timeline of the key events and allegations against Diddy over the past year.
November 16, 2023: Combs’ former girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, files a lawsuit against the producer claiming he raped and physically abused her. She also claimed Combs inflicted years of emotional abuse on her and sought to control all aspects of her personal life, according to the filing in New York City federal court.
The lawsuit accuses Combs and other defendants of sex trafficking, human trafficking, sexual assault, gender-motivated violence, sexual harassment, gender discrimination and a hostile work environment.
Combs’ attorney at the time, Ben Brafman, said in a statement that “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations” and that the suit was “riddled with baseless and outrageous lies.”
The suit described an altercation in a hotel hallway in March 2016 in which Diddy allegedly “grabbed at her,” beat her and threw glass vases at her. Earlier this year, CNN published hotel surveillance video from 2016 which shows Combs grabbing and beating Ventura and throwing an object at her.
November 17, 2023: Just a day after it was filed, Combs and Ventura agree to settle the lawsuit. Both musical artists released statements saying the matter was resolved “amicably.”
Combs’ attorney, Brafman, said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”
November 23, 2023: Two more women accuse Combs of sexual assault in lawsuits filed in New York Supreme Court on the eve of the expiration of the state’s Adult Survivors Act.
The first woman, Joi Dickerson-Neal, had appeared with Combs in a music video and alleged in her suit that the artist drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1991, when she was a Syracuse University student. She also accuses Combs of filming the assault and showing the video to others, in what the suit calls “revenge porn.”
The second woman, Liza Gardner, accused Combs and Aaron Hall, a member of the R&B group Guy, of battery and sexual assault in 1990, when she was 16 years old. Gardner initially filed the suit anonymously but later amended the complaint to include her name and additional allegations.
Combs denied claims made against him by multiple women in a December 2023 Instagram post, writing, “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
December 6, 2023: An anonymous woman using the name “Jane Doe” files a federal lawsuit against Diddy and two other defendants in the Southern District of New York accusing Combs of sex trafficking and gang rape, among other allegations. She was 17 at the time of the alleged assault in 2003.
The suit claims Combs involved the high school student in a sex trafficking scheme that involved “plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs’ studio,” Douglas H. Wigdor, her attorney, said in a statement, “The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life.”
Combs posted a sweeping denial of the growing allegations against him in his December Instagram post, claiming the accusers who had stepped forward were attempting to “assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.”
February 26: Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, a former videographer and music producer for Combs, accuses Combs in a federal lawsuit of racketeering, sexual assault, sex trafficking and “grooming.”
Among other allegations, Jones claims Combs forced him to procure and interact with sex workers, threatened him and served alcoholic beverages laced with drugs to house party guests. He claims to have video and audio recording of the musician and his staff “engaging in serious illegal activity,” according to a complaint filed in New York federal court.
Combs’ attorney at the time, Shawn Holley, denied the allegations and called Jones’ accounts “pure fiction.” He added, “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”
March 25: Heavily armed teams of federal agents – some in armored vehicles and tactical gear – execute dramatic raids of Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area.
The searches were carried out by Homeland Security Investigations as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation, a law enforcement source told CNN at the time.
March 26: Aaron Dyer, a now-former attorney for Combs, criticizes the raids of the producer’s homes as a “gross overuse of military-level force.”
April 4: Combs is named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought against his son, Christian Combs, in Los Angeles. In the complaint, former yacht crew member Grace O’Marcaigh accuses Christian Combs of sexually assaulting her in December 2022, when she was working on a boat chartered by the Combs family.
Diddy is not accused of sexual assault in the lawsuit but is included in allegations of liability and aiding and abetting.
Dyer said in a statement they believe the lawsuit contains “manufactured lies and irrelevant facts,” and they will seek to “dismiss this outrageous claim.”
May 17: CNN publishes hotel surveillance video from 2016 that shows Combs brutally beating Ventura – a striking revelation following Combs’ repeated denials of Ventura’s past claims he had assaulted her.
The video, taken at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, shows Combs running down a hallway after Ventura with a towel wrapped around his waist. He grabs Ventura by the back of the neck, throws her to the floor and kicks her, video shows. The video goes on to show Combs dragging Ventura on the floor and throwing an object at her.
Ventura, who reached an undisclosed settlement with Combs in her lawsuit against him, declined to comment on the video.
Wigdor, an attorney for Ventura, told CNN: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
May 19: Combs apologizes for physically assaulting Ventura in the video published by CNN two days prior. In a video statement, the producer calls his behavior “inexcusable” and says he takes “full responsibility” for the actions show in the surveillance footage.
“I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he added. “I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
The apology video has since been removed from Combs’ Instagram.
The same day, Ventura’s attorney, Meredith Firetog, said in a statement that Combs’ apology was “more about himself than the many people he has hurt.”
“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday. That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words,” Firetog added.
May 21: Crystal McKinney, a former model and MTV competition show winner, files a federal lawsuit accusing Diddy of drugging and sexually assaulting her following a Men’s Fashion Week event in New York City. She was 22 at the time.
CNN sought comment from Combs’ attorneys but did not receive a response.
May 23: April Lampros, who met Diddy in 1994 when she was a student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, files a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court accusing Diddy of sexual assault, battery, assault, negligent infliction of emotional distress and violation of the victims of gender-motivated violence protection law.
Lampros accuses Combs of four instances of sexual assault from the mid-1990s to the early-2000s.
CNN sought comment from Combs’ attorneys but did not receive a response.
May 29: CNN reports federal investigators are preparing to bring Combs’ accusers before a grand jury, citing two sources familiar with the probe – a move that would mark a significant escalation of the government’s investigation into Combs.
Additional sources told CNN that most of the plaintiffs who had filed civil lawsuits against Combs had been interviewed by federal investigators. Some were handing over evidence they believed could assist investigators, one source said.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations declined to comment on the existence of a grand jury at the time, but noted the investigation remained ongoing.
June 10: Combs returns his symbolic key to New York City after Mayor Eric Adams sent a letter to Combs requesting he do so. Adams wrote that he was “deeply disturbed” by the video published by CNN showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura.
June 7: Howard University’s Board of Trustees votes unanimously to revoke the honorary degree given to Combs in 2014, saying the artist is “no longer worthy to hold the institution’s highest honor.” The university said it would also return Combs’ $1 million contribution and terminate a $1 million pledge agreement from the Sean Combs Foundation.
July 3: Adria English, a former adult film actress, accuses Combs of sex trafficking and sexual assault in a federal lawsuit filed in New York. The suit alleges Combs and other defendants used English as “a sexual pawn for the pleasure and financial benefit of others” during parties at several of the producer’s homes.
The complaint also alleges Combs forced English to “engage in prostitution and sex work” between 2006 and 2009.
“No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone,” Jonathan Davis, an attorney for Combs said in a statement in response to the lawsuit.
September 11: Singer Dawn Richard, a former member of the musical group Danity Kane, files a suit accusing Combs of sexual battery, sexual harassment and false imprisonment, among other allegations. She also claims to have seen Combs “brutally beat” Ventura while the pair were dating in the 2000s.
Erica Wolff, Combs’ attorney, denied the allegations in a statement to CNN and accused Richard of having a financial motive. “It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court,” the statement said, in part.
September 16: Combs is arrested in New York City after a grand jury voted to indict him on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs had relocated to New York several days before the arrest in anticipation of the charges, his attorney said. Negotiations for his surrender had been ongoing, according to a source familiar with the talks.
September 17: A wide-ranging indictment against Combs is unsealed, publicly revealing the three charges against him and accusing the music mogul of 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.
Prosecutors allege Combs perpetrated decades of abuse and coercion against women and others in his network to “fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” the indictment states. In addition to allegations of physical abuse against women, prosecutors accuse Combs of orchestrating extended, drug-fueled sex performances called “Freak Offs” between victims and sex workers.
Combs appears in court hours after the indictment is unsealed and pleads not guilty.
He is denied bail and Judge Robyn Tarnofsky rules he will remain in custody as the case plays out, a decision that Combs’ attorneys appeals.
September 18: In a hearing appealing his detention, prosecutors ask the judge to keep Combs behind bars, telling the court he has attempted to tamper with witnesses. His defense asks him to be released until trial and submits a bail package that included a $50 million bond.
Judge Andrew Carter sides with prosecutors and agrees to detain Combs ahead of trial. “My bigger concern deals with the danger of obstruction of justice and the danger of witness tampering,” Carter said.
September 24: Thalia Graves files a lawsuit in federal court in New York accusing Combs and his bodyguard of drugging and sexually assaulting her and filming it in 2001.
The bodyguard, Joseph Sherman, denies the accusations and says he has never met her and was not working with Combs at the time. Combs has not yet responded to the suit.
CNN’s Nicki Brown, John Miller, Eric Levenson, Alli Rosenbloom, Kristina Sgueglia, Lisa Respers France and Sandra Gonzalez contributed to this report.
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