Homes were Raided in a Federal Investigation
On March 25th the Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement raided music producer and hip-hop artist Sean “Diddy” Combs’s multimillion-dollar homes in Los Angeles and Miami. Both raids were carried out by dozens of armed officers seizing several firearms, computers, and other devices. The raids lasted several hours, but Mr. Combs was not present at either property or detained. Combs was spotted at Miami Opa-Locka Executive Airport at the time of the raid, as he was scheduled to depart for a trip to the Caribbean. An associate of Combs, Brendan Paul, was arrested at the airport for drug possession when law enforcement located the men at the airport at the time of the property raids. Paul is named in a civil lawsuit against Combs as his “mule” responsible for acquiring and distributing drugs and guns. Federal officials have not disclosed exactly what prompted the raids but anonymously told the Associated Press they were connected to an investigation by federal authorities in New York. While there are still no official criminal charges against Combs, the number of civil lawsuits filed against Combs continues to grow.
As of Tuesday, May 21st, five women and one man have filed civil lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual misconduct. In November 2023, singer and former girlfriend of Combs, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a civil lawsuit for $30 million accusing Combs of sexual abuse and perpetuating an abusive and manipulative relationship. The allegations included sexual assault, forced sexual activity with male prostitutes, sex trafficking, battery, and forced drug use. Cassie also asserted that Combs forced her to carry his firearm in her purse to intimidate her. The lawsuit was then settled the day after it was filed and Combs maintained that this was not an admission of wrongdoing and vehemently denied all allegations. However, last week a surveillance video from 2016 was released showing Combs physically beating and dragging Cassie in a hotel in Los Angeles, corroborating Cassie’s claims of abuse. Combs publicly responded to the video admitting fault and apologizing after months of saying all the allegations against him were “baseless” or “just money grabs.”
Early this year fellow music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sued Combs alleging Combs forced him to engage with prostitutes and subjected Rodney to “unwanted advances by associates of Diddy at his direction.” His lawsuit also alleges that Combs regularly hosted parties with underage women and illegal drugs to traffic young women. The other women suing Combs also allege sex trafficking, sexual assault, drugging, and filming sexual activity without consent. At this time no criminal charges have been filed against Combs and five civil lawsuits remain active.