Sean 'Diddy' Combs, one of the music moguls in the United States, is under federal investigation for allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking after various complaints. As part of these investigations, agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) carried out entries and searches at properties supposedly under his name, or connected to him, in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
Without specifying the meaning of these operations, the DHS department itself confirmed the entries and records in an open case in the southern district court of the Big Apple. Television cameras captured the intervention at the Holmby Hill residence in Los Angeles, which would be connected to Combs' company called Bad Boy Entertainment. The New York office declined to comment, citing the fact that the operation was underway.
Combs, 54, is also known as Puff Daddy and Diddy and his work is considered instrumental in transforming hip hop into a major global commercial force. But over the years, his work has been dogged for decades by accusations of violence.
Last November he was denounced by Casandra Ventura, his ex-girlfriend, for sexual assault. Known in the Bad Boy factory as entertainer Cassie, she alleged that Combs forced her to engage in sexual activity with male prostitutes over a long period of time. Due to these encounters, which occurred in several cities, Ventura is considered a victim of sex trafficking.
However, a day after the complaint, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Combs, who said the dispute had been resolved amicably.
But then more cases came. In fact, the search operations would have occurred after three women and a man testified at the federal offices in Manhattan. Three other statements were scheduled in relation to allegations of alleged sexual trafficking and assault, as well as solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and weapons. Two of those three women would be minors.
In one of the cases filed this February, music producer Rodney Jones claimed that Combs made unwanted sexual contact with him and forced him to rent prostitutes to engage in sexual activities.
The magnate and musician has always denied these accusations. In December, when an anonymous woman reported him, along with two other men, for allegedly raping him in a recording studio in New York in 2003, when he was 17 years old, Combs responded with fury. “I suffer disgusting accusations from individuals who are only looking for quick and easy money. “I am going to be very clear, I have not committed any of those terrible things that they allege against me,” he said.
Lawyer Shawn Holley, from his defense team, replied last month, after Jones' complaint, that he was nothing more than a liar, that his complaint was pure fiction and that, without any shame, he intended to take financial advantage.
This Monday, on this new occasion, his lawyers remained silent regarding the records. Douglas Wigdor, who represents Ventura and another unnamed woman, said in a statement that he was hopeful this was the beginning of a process that "will lead to Combs being held accountable for his depraved conduct." He insisted that “we have always given support to law enforcement when they try to charge those who break the law.”
Since Ventura and others have made the allegations, Combs has been at the center of scrutiny. He resigned as president of the hip-hop cable channel Revolt, and the streaming platform Hulu canceled a reality series centered on his family.
