Diddy Arrested in NYC After Grand Jury Indictment

Diddy was arrested in New York on Monday night (Sept. 16) after being indicted by a grand jury, Billboard has confirmed.

At the time, it was unknown what the charges were, but the indictment was unsealed Tuesday morning, revealing that Combs has been charged with federal sex trafficking and racketeering, the Associated Press reported. The music mogul had “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals,” according to the AP, citing the documents.

In a statement sent to Billboard on Monday night, Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Diddy (real name: Sean Combs), said: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 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, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.”

The statement continued: “He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal. 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.”

According to TMZ, Combs was taken into federal custody at the FBI’s Manhattan field office on Monday.

The rap mogul has been hit with at least eight civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse over the past year, including the suit that started it all from ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that was later followed by a video showing him assaulting her. Even before the video emerged, that suit was privately settled in under 24 hours. Combs is also facing an apparent federal criminal investigation after authorities raided his homes in March.

The most recent lawsuit against him comes from Danity Kane’s Dawn Richard, who filed a complaint last week in Manhattan federal court saying Diddy “manipulated” her into thinking that “abuse and exploitation were required for female artists to succeed in the music industry.” Richard claims she witnessed Combs abuse Ventura on multiple occasions – and that recent lawsuits from Cassie and others sparked her to speak out.

“As more women courageously come forward, plaintiff has been empowered by this collective strength and now adds her voice to the growing chorus of victims bravely sharing their harrowing stories,” lawyers for Richard write. “Together, they seek justice and stand in solidarity, as the latest victims of the # MeToo movement in the music industry.”

In a statement issued in response to Richard’s claim on Wednesday, Combs’ attorney Erica Wolff said her client was “shocked and disappointed” by the new allegations.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.