Feds search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ properties as part of sex trafficking probe, AP sources say
NEW YORK (AP) — Two properties belonging to music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were searched Monday by federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
It’s not clear whether Combs was the target of the investigation.
In a statement, Homeland Security Investigations said it “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.”
A police line was set up around the Los Angeles house in the wealthy Holmby Hills neighborhood near Beverly Hills. Helicopter video from KABC-TV showed a group of agents with vests that indicated they were from Homeland Security Investigations gathered in the home’s backyard near the pool. A command post was set up outside the house and agents were still entering and leaving hours after the search began.
There have been several sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs in recent months.
In February a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them. Combs’ attorney Shawn Holley has said of those allegations that “we have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”
Combs’ former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him in November alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape. The lawsuit said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The suit was settled the day after it was filed.
Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Cassie did.
Combs had said in a December statement, “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
Douglas Wigdor, an attorney who represents Cassie and another woman who sued Combs, said in a statement Monday, “Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
It is not clear whether the search is related to any of the allegations raised in the lawsuits.
Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he built one of hip-hop’s biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.