Sean "Diddy" Combs is now a criminal defendant in a sex trafficking, racketeering and kidnapping case after a grand jury indicted him ... this according to official documents.
Diddy has been charged with 3 counts -- racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
According to the indictment, from 2008 to the present, members of the Combs enterprise allegedly engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.
According to the indictment, the purpose of the Combs enterprise was to operate a global business in the media, entertainment, and lifestyle industries. The purpose also includes preserving Diddy's power and fulfilling his personal desires, especially in relation to his sexual gratification, including through the exploitation of women and the use of commercial sex workers.
The indictment mentions the now-famous "Freak off" parties ... calling them "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."
The indictment alleges Combs lured women into his orbit under the pretense of a romantic relationship and then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers.
After the freak offs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use.
The indictment does not include details on the kidnapping allegations, other than they occurred in California, as did arson and bribery.
As for the drug charges, they allegedly involve the intent to distribute narcotics, including cocaine, oxycodone, Xanax, GHB -- the "date rape" drug -- MDMA and ketamine.
The indictment references what was seized during the raids at Diddy's homes in Beverly Hills and Miami -- various freak off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant. They also seized firearms, including 3 AR-15s with defaced serial numbers and a drum magazine.
A 2016 video shows Sean "Diddy" Combs assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in an altercation that matches some allegations in now-settled lawsuit https://t.co/fYUQ2z2MYN
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2024
The indictment also includes allegations of violence against women. He's alleged to have assaulted women by striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking them. It references a March 2016 incident at an L.A. hotel captured on video, and this is clearly referencing the Cassie incident.
There's more ... prosecutors say in late 2023, following public allegations of the crimes, Combs and his associates would pressure victims and witnesses, including through attempted bribery, to say silent.
Tuesday morning, Diddy's son's King and Justin were in lower Manhattan, outside Federal court, awaiting their father's appearance before a judge.
If convicted on all counts, Diddy faces decades in prison.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said going into the courthouse, he will "fight like hell" to get his client released on bail. Agnifilo said his client is not only not guilty, but outright innocent.
Diddy will appear before a judge Tuesday morning where the charges will be read.
TMZ broke the story ... Diddy was arrested Monday night at the Park Hyatt hotel in midtown Manhattan, where he had been staying. Law enforcement sources told TMZ ... the arrest was supposed to go down Tuesday but something happened to accelerate it.
Aubrey O'Day, who had a contentious relationship with Diddy during filming of "Making the Band," tells TMZ, "I never thought I would see this day. We all buried this inside of us in order to be able to keep going. And not just me, but victims you don't even know yet. We are all processing what that type of vindication can actually feel like now. Every conversation I've had with victims last night has been beyond moving on all levels."
Homeland Security swooped in Monday evening and took Diddy into custody. He's expected to appear before a federal judge Tuesday where the charges will be read.
Diddy's lawyer told TMZ, "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 he is not a criminal."
30 minutes before the arrest, Diddy was outside the hotel chatting it up with fans.
Hours before the arrest, he was walking with his son Christian "King" Combs on the streets of New York.
He's been in NYC for several days -- on Sunday he was chilling in Central Park -- and we're told he was fully aware the indictment was coming down the pike, but did not know exactly when he'd be arrested.