Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with three felony charges, including sex trafficking, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment.
The music mogul was arrested in Manhattan on Monday following a grand jury indictment.
The indictment charges Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Federal prosecutors allege that for decades Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
“To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled —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,” the 14-page indictment says.
Prosecutors also allege that Combs “manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.”
Diddy, for months, has been embroiled in controversy following numerous sexual and physical abuse allegations from his former romantic and creative partners. The music mogul’s Los Angeles and Miami mansions were the target of a Department of Homeland Security raid in March.
Authorities at the time did not provide additional details regarding the raid, but The New York Times reported an official described the inquiry as related to a human trafficking investigation.
Combs has vehemently denied the allegations against him.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office,” Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lawyer, said in a statement to Business Insider on Monday.
Agnifilo said his client “is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal. ” He described Combs as “nothing but cooperative with this investigation,” having voluntarily relocated to New York last week “in anticipation of these charges.”
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