Following Diddy’s arrest in New York, federal prosecutors on Tuesday (September 17) unsealed a criminal indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said shortly after the Bad Boy Records founder’s arrest on Monday that a then-sealed indictment would be further detailed in the coming hours.
“Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,” Williams said Monday night. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
The unsealed indictment reveals sex trafficking and racketeering charges, accusing the Hip-Hop mogul of operating a criminal enterprise centered on his “pervasive pattern of abuse toward women.”
“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” reads the indictment. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”
If convicted of the charges, Combs is facing a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.
Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Diddy, said on Tuesday that these charges were expected. Diddy is also alleged to have engaged in transportation to engage in prostitution.
The 14-page indictment accuses Diddy of having “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Agnifilo previously issued a statement on Monday and criticized the larger case as an “unjust prosecution” of his client.
“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said. “To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
