U.S. prosecutors on Thursday unveiled a brand new indictment in opposition to Sean “Diddy” Combs, accusing the hip-hop mogul of forcing workers to work lengthy hours and threatening to punish those that didn’t help in his two-decade intercourse trafficking scheme.
Combs, 55, nonetheless faces a scheduled May 5 trial in Manhattan on federal costs of racketeering conspiracy, intercourse trafficking and transportation to interact in prostitution. He has pleaded not responsible.
“Mr. Combs has said it before and will say it again: he vehemently denies the accusations” made by federal prosecutors, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo mentioned in an announcement. “He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will.”
Combs has additionally denied all wrongdoing in dozens of civil lawsuits by men and women who accused him of sexual assault and different misconduct.
While the brand new indictment added no new costs, it described what prosecutors known as the “forced labor” that Combs demanded in reference to the racketeering conspiracy.
It mentioned Combs and his associates “maintained control” over some workers by forcing them to work lengthy hours with little sleep, by the usage of or threats to make use of bodily power, monetary hurt, psychological hurt and reputational hurt.
“In doing so, Combs, assisted by members and associates of the enterprise, caused these employees to believe they would be harmed–including by losing their jobs–if they did not comply with his demands,” the indictment mentioned.
Such strain triggered one unnamed worker “to engage in sex acts with Combs,” the indictment added.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversees the case, prosecutors mentioned they count on to supply Combs’ legal professionals with extra particulars by March 10.
They requested that Combs be arraigned on the brand new indictment on March 14.
In his assertion, Agnifilo mentioned a lot of Combs’ former workers “stand by his side, prepared to attest to the dedication, hard work and inspiration they experienced while helping build groundbreaking, award-winning businesses.”
Prosecutors mentioned Combs’ intercourse trafficking scheme ran from 2004 to 2024.
Many of the civil lawsuits had been filed below a 2022 New York City regulation giving alleged victims of gender-motivated violence a window to sue even when statutes of limitations had expired. The deadline to sue expired on the finish of February.
Combs is in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.