Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex ...

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Sean "Diddy" Combs has been charged with racketeering conspiracy alleging he ran an enterprise that he engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor or, kidnapping, arson and other crimes.

He is also charged by sex trafficking by force and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, roughly six months after federal authorities conducting a sex trafficking investigation raided his luxurious homes in Los Angeles and Miami.

The indictment detailing the charges was unsealed Tuesday morning. According to the indictment, "Combs abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct."

Combs, 54, relied on employees, resources and influence of his multi-faceted business empire to create "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 indictment said.

Diddy allegedly controlled women by plying them with drugs, withholding financial support and resorting to violence, allegations that mirror 11 civil complaints filed against him since 2023.

Combs "knew this was coming," his attorney said Tuesday as he entered federal court.

"We brought him to New York two weeks ago because sure we knew this day would come and it's here," the attorney, Marc Agnifilo said.

Diddy's spirits are good, Agnifilo said. "He's dealing with this head on the way he has dealt with every challenge in his life."

Over the past year, Combs has been sued by people who say he subjected them to physical or sexual abuse. He has denied many of those allegations and Agnifilo called the new indictment an "unjust prosecution."

"He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal," Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.

The attorney said Combs voluntarily moved to New York two weeks ago, anticipating the indictment. He said they had planned to surrender to federal prosecutors before Combs was arrested outside the Park Hyatt hotel in Midtown.

Agnifilo said he will "fight like hell to get him released" on bail "and he should be released with all that he's done, coming here voluntarily."

"He's dealing with this head on, the way he has dealt with every challenge in his life," Agnifilo said.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to have Diddy detained in federal custody while he awaits trial, arguing "there is no condition, or combination of conditions, that will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of others and the community, not to mention the integrity of the proceedings."

In a letter to the judge, prosecutors called Diddy "dangerous" and said he poses an ongoing threat to the safety of the community.

Combs was recognized as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations that emerged over the past year turned him into an industry pariah.

In November, his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years. She accused Combs of coercing her, and others, into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings.

The suit was settled in one day but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her on a floor. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, "I was disgusted when I did it."

Combs and his attorneys, however, denied similar allegations made by others in a string of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday that "neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment."

"We appreciate your understanding and if that changes, we will certainly let you know," he added.

A woman said Combs raped her two decades ago when she was 17. A music producer sued, saying Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to "terrifying sexual encounters," starting when she was a college student in 1994.

The AP does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie and Lampros did.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years earlier that injured three people. His then-protege, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.

(ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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