Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ homes have been raided by US law enforcement. Here’s what we know
The rapper and music mogul has faced a string of varying accusations over the past six months. Mike Bedigan and Katie Hawkinson report
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Homes belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by officials from US Homeland Security on Monday 25 March in connection to a federal sex trafficking investigation.
The sudden raids come as the rapper and music mogul – who is credited with helping launch the careers of artists including Biggie Smalls, Mary J Blige and Usher – has faced a string of varying accusations over the past six months, including sexual assault.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Why were Diddy’s homes raided?
The raids – on Diddy’s Los Angeles mansion is in the upmarket Holmby Hills area, near Bel Air and Beverly Hills, and his Miami Beach home on the exclusive Star Island – were carried out “in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation” according to Fox 11.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said: “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners.
“We will provide further information as it becomes available.”
NBC News cited an unnamed source as saying that three women and a man had been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan and that three other interviews were scheduled concerning allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.
Federal agents did find firearms on Diddy’s properties in LA and Miami, according to sources who spoke to NBC News. The type of firearms allegedly found and the legal owners of the firearms are still unknown.
It remains unconfirmed whether Diddy himself is the focus of the investigation.
Fox 11 has also shared video footage of the raid taken from an overhead helicopter that shows several individuals in handcuffs outside the property, including Diddy’s two sons.
Diddy also has another home, purchased in Atlanta, Georgia in 2003, that has sat vacant for several years. Recent images show the counters covered in dust and chandeliers coated in cobwebs. This property was not raided.
Where is Diddy?
Speculation as to Diddy’s whereabouts have circulated since the raids.
Information about a private jet belonging to the rapper was removed from a popular flight tracking website on Tuesday 26 March. The black, 20-seat black Gulfstream Aerospace GV-SP is registered to LoveAir LLC.
According to TMZ, the plane was spotted on the ground in Antigua, in the Caribbean, shortly after news of the raids broke. Diddy is not believed to have been on board the jet at the time.
The outlet reported, based on flight data, that the jet had travelled across California between Sunday 24 and Monday 25 March, taking off from Sacramento Executive Airport at around 5.30pm on Sunday evening and landing at Palm Springs International Airport about an hour later. It later took off again, stopping at Van Nuys Airport, just north of Los Angeles. Some time later it left Van Nuys and landed in Antigua, according to TMZ.
On Tuesday, flight data was no longer available online. A statement on FlightAware.com read: “This aircraft (N1969C) is not available for public tracking per request from the owner/operator.”
However, reports indicate the plane returned on Wednesday morning and has remained parked at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport ever since.
Diddy was spotted in public for the first time following the raids on Thursday night, when he went to Miami golf club Top Golf with his twin daughters.
What are the accusations against Diddy?
The rapper and music mogul, 54, has faced a string of sexual assault allegations in recent months.
In February, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones accused Diddy of sexually assaulting him and forcing him to sleep with sex workers.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, accused the music mogul of repeated instances of unsolicited groping and sexual touching. It also said that the man had to work in a bathroom while Diddy showered and walked around naked. Mr Jones also identified Rapper 50 Cent‘s former girlfriend and the mother of one of his children as one of the alleged sex workers. She has denied the claims and said she is considering legal action.
Another lawsuit, filed in December, alleged that Diddy had gang-raped a 17-year-old girl in 2003.
The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, accused Diddy of plying her with drugs and alcohol at his New York studio and then raping her along with two associates.
The suit accused Diddy of a “sex trafficking scheme,” in which Jane Doe was flown by private jet from her home in Michigan to New York.
Others in the media sphere have also come out against him, citing their negative experiences. Tanika Ray, a TV host and one-time backup singer for Diddy, said she had a “horrific” experience with the rapper. “I just knew to avoid him at all costs … Yes, I danced for him and kept my space. I interviewed him for his projects and kept my space. Nothing that is happening is surprising,” she wrote, per Page Six.
Meanwhile, a recently resurfaced video shows Diddy questioning a nervous Justin Bieber, who appears to be 16 years old, about why he had supposedly been keeping his distance.
Diddy has vehemently denied all accusations against him and has not been charged with a crime.
Lawsuit with Cassie
In November, Diddy and R&B singer Cassie, whose full name is Cassandra Ventura, settled a lawsuit after she claimed that she was trafficked, raped and beaten by the rapper on many occasions over 10 years.
Her lawsuit alleged that Diddy brought the singer into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” not long after she met him, and signed her to his label when she was 19 and he was 37 in 2005.
Cassie said that the pattern of abuse began as soon as their relationship started and that, as she was trying to end it in 2018, he forced her into her Los Angeles home and raped her.
Her accusations against Diddy were brought through the New York Adult Survivors Act (ASA), which expired at midnight on 23 November 2023
The act provided survivors a one-year window to pursue civil litigation regardless of when the abuse occurred, meaning incidents from decades were finally brought to light.
Over 2,500 cases were filed under the ASA before its expiry at midnight on 23 November 2023, court data sent to The Independent showed. Survivors brought lawsuits against some of the state’s most powerful men, including major players in entertainment, such as Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Axl Rose, and Diddy.
The suit involving Cassie and Diddy was settled days later.
What has Diddy said?
The music mogul has strongly denied all the accusations against him and vowed to “fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
On Tuesday, lawyers for the rapper released a statement describing the actions of US Homeland Security during the property raids on Monday as a “gross overuse of military level force”.
“Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr Combs’ residences. There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated,” his attorney said.
“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
Diddy is reportedly cancelling his plans and staying put in the US to fight against any allegations that he was involved in gun, drug, and sex trafficking.
Sources who spoke with the Los Angeles Times said that Diddy was planning to leave for a spring break vacation with his daughters, but has since cancelled those plans. He reportedly still has his passport.
In a statement in December following the lawsuit brought by Jane Doe, Diddy called the claims “sickening” and said his accusers were “looking for a quick payday”.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Diddy’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, branded the events described in the lawsuit as “pure fiction”.
“We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies,” he said. “We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”
Following the settlement with Ventura, Ben Brafman, another attorney for Diddy, told The Independent: “Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing.
“Mr. Combs’s decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims.
“He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms Ventura the best.”