Sean Diddy Combs arrested: P. Diddy is being held without bail after being charged with organized crime conspiracy and sex trafficking in NYC

NEW YORK (WABC) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was ordered held without bail Tuesday after being charged with conspiracy to commit organized crime. He is accused of running an enterprise in which he was involved in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and other crimes.

He was also charged with sex trafficking by force and transportation for the purpose of prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty.

The music mogul was arrested late Monday in Manhattan, about six months after federal authorities raided his luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking investigation.

The indictment detailing the allegations was unsealed on Tuesday morning. According to the indictment, Combs “abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and cover up his conduct.”

Combs, 54, used the employees, resources and influence of his multifaceted business empire to “build a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in or attempted to engage in, among other things, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice,” the indictment states.

Diddy is alleged to have controlled women by drugging them, denying them financial support and using violence. These allegations reflect the 11 civil lawsuits filed against him since 2023.

Federal prosecutors requested pretrial detention, describing him as an “extreme danger” to the community.

“The defendant Sean Combs has physically and sexually abused victims for decades,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson. “He is a serial offender and a serial blocker.”

Prosecutors have interviewed at least a dozen witnesses who could testify that they saw women injured by the violence used by Combs, Johnson said.

Combs appeared unresponsive as prosecutors described his “long-standing pattern of abuse,” which included intentional and spontaneous violence to entice young women to participate in his freak-offs.

Combs “knew what was coming,” his lawyer said Tuesday as he entered federal court.

“We brought him to New York two weeks ago because we were sure this day would come, and now it's here,” said lawyer Marc Agnifilo.

Diddy is in good spirits, Agnifilo said. “He's dealing with this the way he's dealt with every challenge in his life.”

He said Diddy had been expecting federal charges since federal Department of Homeland Security agents raided his homes in Florida and California in March.

Last year, Combs was sued by people who claimed he physically or sexually abused them. He has denied many of those allegations, and Agnifilo called the new charges an “unjustified prosecution.”

“He is an imperfect human being, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement late Monday.

The attorney said Combs voluntarily moved to New York two weeks ago to await the charges. He said they had planned to surrender to federal prosecutors before Combs was arrested outside the Park Hyatt hotel in Midtown.

In court on Tuesday, Judge Robyn Tarnofsky ordered Combs to be held in custody pending trial, saying, “My concern is that this is a crime that is happening behind closed doors.”

The judge noted the “power imbalance” between Combs and the alleged victims and mentioned Combs' alleged drug use and violence.

Federal prosecutors called for Combs to be detained, arguing in a letter to the judge that he is “dangerous” and poses an ongoing threat to the community.

“The defendant also poses a significant risk of obstruction of justice,” prosecutors said. “During the course of the crime he is charged with, the defendant attempted to bribe security personnel and threatened and obstructed witnesses to his crime. He has already attempted to obstruct the government's investigation of this case by repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and giving them false accounts of events.”

“There are simply no conditions that would ensure that the defendant's efforts to obstruct and influence witnesses will cease,” prosecutors said.

Agnifilo had asked the judge to release Combs on $50 million bail because his client did not pose the flight risk portrayed by prosecutors. The lawyer said Combs arrived in New York on September 5 and “came here to face the matter.”

Agnifilo said Combs is trying to sell his private plane. Agnifilo said he has taken possession of his client's passport and those of five of his relatives.

During a press conference in the evening, Agnifilo stated that they would try again to obtain provisional release on bail.

“We are appealing the decision to hold him without bail,” Agnifilo said.

A bail hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday before the district judge who will hear the case. Combs will spend the night in federal custody.

Combs was considered one of the most influential figures in hip-hop before a flood of allegations over the past year made him an outsider in the industry.

In November his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit claiming he beat and raped her for years. She accused Combs of forcing her and others to have unwanted sex in drug-fueled environments.

The case was settled in a day, but months later, CNN aired security camera footage from the hotel showing Combs punching, kicking and throwing Cassie to the ground. After the video aired, Combs apologized, saying, “I was disgusted when I did that.”

However, Combs and his lawyers have denied similar allegations made by others in a series of lawsuits.

Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Cassie, said in a statement Tuesday: “Neither Ms. Ventura nor I have any comment.”

“We thank you for your understanding and if anything changes, we will definitely inform you,” he added.

One woman said Combs raped her twenty years ago, when she was 17. A music producer filed suit, claiming Combs forced him to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, said Combs subjected her to “horrific sexual encounters,” beginning in 1994, when she was a college student.

Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has gotten out of legal trouble before.

In 2001, he was acquitted of charges related to a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub two years earlier that left three people injured. His then-protégé, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges and served about eight years in prison.

(ABC News and Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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