A superseding indictment of Sean “Diddy” Combs has been unsealed, raising the total number of federal charges against the Catholic-raised hip-hop mogul to five, including racketeering, sex trafficking, and interstate prostitution.
Prosecutors filed the updated charges in federal court for the Southern District of New York on April 3.
Combs’ trial, which will bring at least one well-known music star to the stand to testify against the 55-year-old recording artist, is set to begin next month amid swirling media scrutiny. Combs’ most prominent accuser, his former partner and protégé Cassie Ventura, has said she will testify under her own name.
Several other accusers—among more than 50 men, women, and children who have filed suit against Combs since 2023—are seeking to remain anonymous if and when they give testimony in federal court.
The rapper and Bad Boy Records label exec, who rebranded as “Brother Love” in 2022, was arrested in a Manhattan hotel last year following cascading media reports of his alleged physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. He is also accused of kidnapping and coercion in connection with a number of infamous “freak-off” parties.
Combs has publicly maintained his innocence, though he immediately settled a civil case filed by Ventura in November 2023. That lawsuit involved Combs’ alleged attempt to blow up a vehicle belonging to Ventura’s boyfriend, as well as a much-publicized 2016 hotel assault caught on camera and released publicly in May 2024.
A subsequent, now-deleted apology video saw Combs calling his actions against Ventura “inexcusable.” He would later claim through his lawyers that the hotel footage of his attack was digitally manipulated.
Efran Menny
This month’s superseding indictment is the third so far in Combs’ federal case, which involves activities spread across his business enterprises and residences in Florida, California, and New York. Two of his sons, Justin and Christian, were caught up in a federal raid on his residence in Beverly Hills and have been accused in civil sexual assault cases involving their father and his associates.
Combs’ various business enterprises took a sharp hit as his legal troubles mounted, with various endorsements and partnerships canceled before and after his arrest. Two municipalities, New York City and Miami Beach, have rescinded honors amid widespread boycotts of his music. In addition, one of Combs’ lawyers withdrew from his case in February.
Combs has yet to be arraigned on his latest federal charges and remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Judges have denied all four of his attempts to make bail and remain free until his trial begins on May 5.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
