By Ben Sisario and Julia Jacobs
Sean Combs, the embattled music mogul, was denied bail earlier this week after pleading not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
In a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday, Combs, 54, was described as the boss of a yearslong criminal enterprise that threatened and abused women, coercing them to participate against their will in drug-fueled orgies with male prostitutes and threatening them with violence or the loss of financial support if they refused.
The 14-page indictment against Combs, a producer, record executive and performer who is also known as Diddy and Puff Daddy, came a day after he was arrested in a Manhattan hotel room, following an investigation that has been active since at least early this year. Prosecutors said Combs and his employees engaged in kidnapping, forced labor, arson and bribery, and kept firearms at the ready.
In asking a magistrate to deny Combs’ request to be released on bail, prosecutors argued that he was a threat to the community. One of the prosecutors, Emily A. Johnson, called him a “serial abuser and a serial obstructer,” and said his wealth would make it easy for him to escape undetected. She noted that after Combs was arrested, law enforcement found what they suspected to be narcotics in his hotel room, in the form of pink powder.
Combs’ lawyers suggested a $50 million bond. But Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky denied their request, citing Combs’ anger issues and history of substance abuse, and ordered Combs detained while he awaits trial.
“My concern,” the judge said, “is that this is a crime that happens behind closed doors.”
As Combs walked out of the courtroom, he looked toward his supporters in the room, including his three adult sons, and put his hand on his heart.
Outside the courthouse, Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs’ lawyers, said they would appeal the denial of bail, and added, “We believe in him wholeheartedly.”
During the hearing, Agnifilo began to mount Combs’ defense against the indictment, asserting that the sex trafficking charge, which involves Combs’ former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, was based on consensual sex over a 10-year relationship.
“They are coming into this man’s bedroom,” Agnifilo said of the government’s case.
The racketeering charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a sex trafficking conviction would carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.
The charges are a stunning repudiation of Combs’ long-standing public image. He was one of the most influential figures in the spread of hip-hop as a global commercial force, produced era-defining hits for stars including the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, and built a business empire based largely on his raffish, street-smart personal brand. Those included the Sean John fashion line and a partnership with liquor giant Diageo that over the years earned him more than $1 billion.
Although he has long been trailed by accusations of violence, he was largely unscathed until a series of lawsuits over the past year accused him of sexual assault and other allegations of sexual misconduct. His business empire began to crumble as a federal investigation swirled around him.
The indictment, which was filed with the court last week and unsealed Tuesday, includes graphic descriptions of what it says Combs called “freak offs”: “highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity” in hotels and other locations that were fueled by drugs and could go on for days. At these events, the government says, women were plied with drugs to keep them “obedient” and coerced to participate in sex with prostitutes.
Those coerced to participate in the orgies “typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use,” according to the indictment.
Combs would watch these events, sometimes while masturbating and recording video. According to the government, Combs “used the sensitive, embarrassing and incriminating recordings that he made during Freak Offs as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims.”
Prosecutors asserted that the women believed they could not refuse his demands without physical or emotional abuse, or without fearing that their financial or job security would be put at risk. They alleged that Combs maintained control over women by tracking their location, dictating their appearance, monitoring their medical information and supplying them with drugs.
No victims are named in the indictment, and the government’s sex trafficking count mentions only an anonymous “Victim 1.”
But the descriptions of the events mirror accusations made in a lawsuit last year by Ventura, Combs’ former girlfriend and an artist signed to his record label, Bad Boy, under the name Cassie.
Ventura settled her lawsuit, which was filed in November, after just one day, with Combs denying any wrongdoing. But the indictment describes orgies in similar terms to Ventura’s suit, saying they involved copious amounts of drugs and other supplies.
As part of the government argument that Combs should be denied bail, prosecutors accused him of obstructing justice after Ventura’s lawsuit. They wrote in court papers that he and his associates reached out to potential victims and witnesses to “feed” them “false narratives,” including by making several calls to someone prosecutors describe as a victim of his sexual abuse.
“During the calls, the defendant repeatedly asked for the victim’s support and ‘friendship,’ and attempted to convince the victim that she had willingly engaged in acts constituting sexual abuse,” prosecutors wrote in court papers.
When federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach in March, the indictment said, “law enforcement seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.” It was in Miami Beach that agents found nine AR-15-style weapons — six with serial numbers intact and three of them defaced.
A lawyer for Ventura, Douglas H. Wigdor, declined to comment on the government’s indictment. Lawyers for other women who have filed suits against Combs hailed the arrest.
“It’s a big, moving day for victims, but an arrest is only the beginning,” said Lisa Bloom, whose client, singer Dawn Richard — a former member of two musical groups that were assembled by Combs — filed suit just last week.
At a news conference in Manhattan after the indictment was unsealed, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, encouraged anyone with more information to come forward.
“This office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking,” Williams said, “no matter how powerful or wealthy or famous you may be.”
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