Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Los Angeles and Miami mansions raided by federal officials
Sean "Diddy" Combs' Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided, according to multiple reports.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it had executed "law enforcement actions" on Monday.
Combs has faced several sexual-assault accusations and lawsuits.
Federal officials on Monday raided the Los Angeles and Miami homes belonging to Sean "Diddy" Combs, according to multiple reports.
In a statement to Business Insider, Homeland Security Investigations confirmed it had "executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners."
In a statement to Business Insider, Aaron Dyer, a lawyer for Combs, also confirmed that search warrants were executed at the rapper's homes, calling it a "gross overuse of military-level force."
Per the statement, Dyer said that Combs was not detained by law enforcement but "spoke to and cooperated with authorities." Dyer said neither Combs nor his family members were arrested, and there have been no travel restrictions placed on Combs.
"There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations," Dyer said. "Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name."
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson didn't tell BI why the agency was raiding the homes or who the target of the raids was. But reports from the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times citing law-enforcement sources indicate the search was part of a sex-trafficking investigation.
The DHS handles an array of criminal investigations, including those related to terrorism, national-security threats, child exploitation, and human trafficking.
The rapper and producer has faced several lawsuits from people who've accused him of sexual assault. He has denied the allegations.
Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura accused him of raping and abusing her during their decadelong relationship in a lawsuit filed on November 16.
Ventura settled with Combs a day after filing her lawsuit.
"We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law," a lawyer for Ventura told BI in response to the news about the raid. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct."
Combs was once worth close to $1 billion, according to Forbes' 2022 list of the highest-paid entertainers, because of his music career and multiple business ventures. But since Ventura came forward, Combs has stepped down as chairman of the cable television network Revolt. Multiple brands have also severed ties with Empower Global, Combs' marketplace for Black-owned businesses, and a Hulu series based on his family has been canceled.
A week after Ventura came forward with her allegations and the day before the expiration of the extended period for filing sexual-abuse lawsuits, which was granted under New York's Adult Survivors Act, two additional women accused Combs of sexual abuse in separate civil suits.
Joi Dickerson-Neal, one of the accusers, said in her lawsuit filed November 23 that after the pair went on a date in 1991, Combs drugged her, sexually assaulted her, and videotaped the incident, BI previously reported. A spokesperson for Combs said at the time that the allegations were "purely a money grab and nothing more."
An attorney for Dickerson-Neal didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
The other accuser, who filed suit on November 23 as a Jane Doe to protect her identity, alleged that Combs, along with another man, sexually assaulted her and a friend after an event in the early 1990s, the AP reported. A spokesperson for Combs denied the allegations, the outlet reported.
A fourth woman came forward in early December with accusations that Combs had "sex trafficked and gang raped" her in 2003 when she was 17, BI previously reported.
In an Instagram post after the fourth woman came forward, Combs said he "did not do any of the awful things being alleged" and pledged to "fight for my name, my family, and for the truth."
Most recently, the producer Rodney Jones Jr., who collaborated with Combs on the album "The Love Album: Off the Grid," filed suit against Combs in late February, alleging Combs forced him to "solicit sex workers and perform sex acts to the pleasure of Mr. Combs," BI previously reported.
Tyrone Blackburn, Jones' attorney, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Update: March 25, 2024 — This story has been updated with additional details and context following the breaking news of the DHS raid on Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Correction: March 26, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated when Casandra Ventura filed her lawsuit against Sean Combs. It was filed on November 16, not November 17.
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