Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested in New York, his attorney tells CNN
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has faced a parade of sexual assault lawsuits and a federal human trafficking probe in the last year, has been arrested, the producer’s attorney tells CNN.
Combs – who has been in New York City since last week – was arrested Monday at the Park Hyatt Hotel on 57th Street in Manhattan and taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations at approximately 8:15 p.m., a source familiar with the negotiations tells CNN.
The arrest was made based on an indictment which is expected to be unsealed Tuesday morning, according to a statement from Damian Williams, US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The charges and details of the case against Combs are unclear at this time.
Negotiations for the Combs’ surrender had been ongoing, and the sealed indictment was voted on Monday, according to the source.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Combs, told CNN.
Combs’ attorney said that the musician has been cooperating with the investigation that led to the indictment and “voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.” His team maintains his innocence, and says he has “nothing to hide.”
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person but is not criminal,” Agnifilo told CNN.
Agnifolo asked people to “please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Earlier this year, Combs became the target of a months-long sex trafficking probe by the Homeland Security Investigations agency, which led to the dramatic searches of the musician’s Los Angeles and Miami homes in March.
Following the home raids, a law enforcement source told CNN that the federal probe stems from many of the sexual assault allegations made in several civil lawsuits against the producer. CNN learned that the scope of the investigation is much larger, focusing on sex trafficking, money laundering and illegal drugs.
Since last November, Combs has been hit with ten lawsuits, nine directly accusing him of sexual assault. As previously reported by CNN, several of those accusers have met with federal investigators for questioning as part of the wide-ranging probe.
CNN
