- According to the indictment, “[p]hysical abuse by [Combs] was recurrent and widely known.” Id. at ¶ 4. It notes that Combs’ assaults on women included “striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them.” Id. Combs was also charged with “us[ing] the Combs Business, including certain employees, to carry out, facilitate, and cover up his abuse and commercial sex” and the indictment notes that his employees’ conduct “was facilitated and assisted by Combs’ control of the Combs Business.” Id. at ¶ 5. The indictment specifically refers to the involvement of “Combs’ security staff,” likely referring to Sherman. Id. It notes that Combs and his affiliates recorded sexual assaults and controlled victims through the use of drugs. See id. at ¶ 12. In or about March 2024, law enforcement seized narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant from Combs’ residences. Id.
- On September 16, 2024, Combs was arrested at a Manhattan hotel after a grand jury indicted him on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. The indictment details how “[f]or decades, [Combs] abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” See United States of America v. Sean Combs, a/k/a Puff Daddy,” a/k/a “P. Diddy,” a/k/a “Diddy,” a/k/a “PD,” a/k/a “Love,” Index No. 24 Crim. 542, Indictment (SDNY), at ¶ 1. ^1 It notes that Combs’ abuse of women was enabled by “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.” Id.