Sean ‘Diddy' Combs to learn fate as jury reaches verdict in bombshell NY sex-trafficking trial
The jury on Wednesday found Combs guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution after a bombshell seven-week trial in Manhattan.
Combs nodded his head repeatedly and said 'thank you' to a juror as a verdict clearing him on the most serious charges was read out in court, The NY Post reports. He then held his hands in the prayer gesture and waved them in the direction of the jury approvingly.
Judge Arun Subramanian thanked the jury for their hard work before releasing them from duty.
'I want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication,' the judge said. 'I know you've given a lot to be here over the last 10 weeks.'
'It's taken a tremendous amount of sacrifice. I want you to know it's inspiring to all of us,' Subramanian continued. 'You did so with no reward, other than the reward of answering the call of public service.'
Combs could face a maximum of 20 years behind bars on the two prostitution charges.
Each count he was convicted of has a max sentence of 10 years and could theoretically be added together for a 20-year sentence.
There is no minimum sentence for those charges of transportation to engage in prostitution - or Mann Act Transportation.
The jurors, eight men and four women, began deliberating around 11:30am. Monday, June 30, before finally notifying the judge they had reached a decision, The NY Post reports.
Combs, 55, was facing the rest of his life behind bars if he was found guilty of the sex-trafficking or racketeering conspiracy charges against him.
Prosecutors claim the Bad Boy Records founder ran a 20-year criminal scheme, committing a slew of crimes, including forcing women into so-called 'freak-offs.'
MORE: Jailed Diddy's wild $98m move exposed
The 'freak-offs' were highly orchestrated, sometimes days-long sex sessions in which Combs had women sleep with male prostitutes while they were on drugs, prosecutors claimed. Combs directed the participants to slather each other in baby oil while he watched, pleasured himself and filmed, the feds alleged.
The music tycoon was on trial for five felony counts: two for sex trafficking, two of transportation to engage in prostitution and one of racketeering conspiracy — a charge frequently used in mob cases. If he is found guilty on one of the sex-trafficking charges, he'll face a mandatory minimum of 15 years behind bars. And each prostitution-related charge comes with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
During the seven weeks of testimony that began in May, prosecutors called 34 people to the stand, including star witness Cassie Ventura, to testify about Combs' alleged violent temper and twisted sexual proclivities.
Ventura — an R&B singer signed to Combs' label — told jurors about her tumultuous 10-year relationship with the hip-hop mogul, who she alleged repeatedly beat her and forced her into 'freak-offs.'
Jurors were repeatedly shown the infamous surveillance video of Combs shoving, kicking and dragging Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Combs allegedly bribed a security worker at the hotel to bury the footage.
The jury also heard about other crimes Combs allegedly committed, like setting Kid Cudi's Porsche convertible on fire and breaking into his home in a jealous rage over the rapper's relationship with Ventura. Combs also allegedly had multiple people, including his employees, buy him drugs and even fly them from California to Miami for him, according to witness testimony.
The 'It's All About The Benjamins' rhymer has been held in a Brooklyn federal lockup since September 2024, and was present in court for the duration of the trial, with his mother and his children often showing up in support.
Combs pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argued to jurors that prosecutors failed to prove the array of charges.
The defence maintained that the women who took part in 'freak-offs' were Combs girlfriends and were willing participants.
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Sean ‘Diddy' Combs
News Online. In article updating the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial on 1 July an early version incorrectly stated that the accused pleaded guilty to the charges.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
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How Sean ‘Diddy' Combs dodged sex trafficking, racketeering charges after feds built ‘weak' case - that likely cost $15 million: experts
Prosecutors in the nation's most prestigious US attorney's office overshot Sean 'Diddy' Combs' case by relying on 'sensationalism' rather than solid legal arguments — leading to his stunning acquittal Wednesday on the most serious charges, legal experts told The Post. Jurors found Combs, 55, not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering charges, while convicting him on lesser prostitution counts — ultimately making his closely watched case one of the most expensive prostitution trials in American history. 'Diddy likely spent eight figures or more than $10 million ($15 million AUD) on defense fees in this trial,' former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said, adding that his 'top-tier' attorneys Mark Agnifilo and Brian Steel typically charge retainers of $1 million or more in cases like Diddy's. 'The irony of it all is that if Diddy wasn't so cheap and he had paid the additional $10 million to Cassie to settle her case before she filed her lawsuit, we probably wouldn't be here.' The case was doomed from the start, according to veteran defense attorney David S. Seltzer, managing partner at Seltzer Mayberg, LLC. 'They tried to put a square peg in a round hole, using mobster-like charges, when all they had were glorified State Court charges,' he said, referring to the racketeering counts. He said the feds proved that Combs abused women and enjoyed voyeuristic sex, but failed to prove that the mogul's sins and kinks were part of a Mafia-like criminal enterprise. The mixed verdict is a blow to the powerful Southern District of New York – a formidable institution that earned the nickname the 'Sovereign District' because of its reputation for independence and success in winning complex convictions. The storied US Attorney's office successfully prosecuted shaggy crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, gold bar bribe bearer former Sen. Robert Menendez and a host of New York mafia figures in the 1980s. But SDNY recently saw its corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams collapse as President Trump's Department of Justice told prosecutors to dismiss charges – a request that prompted an exodus from the office. Southern District prosecutors, then led by former US Attorney Damien Williams, pursued an ambitious Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — or RICO — case against the Bad Boy Records mogul, alleging he used his business empire to conceal sordid crimes, including forcing his girlfriends into degrading, drug-fueled sex romps he dubbed 'freak-offs.' The case's outcome hinged on whether prosecutors could prove Combs ran a criminal enterprise, said Rahmani, a defense attorney. 'Like I've said all along, this case will come down to racketeering,' Rahmani predicted ahead of the verdict. 'If the government doesn't get a RICO conviction, this will be a huge loss and the most expensive prostitution trial in American history.' And it's a huge loss financially for taxpayers, as well. 'The federal investigation into Diddy involving countless raids, surveillance, and cooperation across agencies like Homeland Security and the FBI, likely resulted in taxpayers' seven- or eight-figure dollar bill, taking in staff wages, travel, legal fees, and administrative costs,' said New York trial attorney Nicole Brenecki. 'Despite this questionable investment, no guilty verdict has been secured raising serious concerns about prosecutorial discretion and the use of taxpayers' funds. This case simply appears to be a costly misfire. Potentially $10 million.' During the sensational two-month trial, Combs' former girlfriends Cassie Ventura and a woman only identified as 'Jane' emotionally testified they were coerced into disturbing, baby oil-soaked 'freak-offs' with escorts. The women's testimony was often harrowing, such as when Ventura – who was pregnant on the witness stand – alternately detailed Combs' abuse and the humiliating sex acts he desired she carry out for his sick pleasure. 'Jane' also recounted how Combs choked, kicked and punched her during an hours-long abusive at her Los Angeles home in 2024 — before forcing her into a 'freak-off' that same night. But Brenecki said the evidence still indicated that Combs' ex-girlfriends appear to have 'willingly taken part in 'freak-offs.'' 'Voluntary participation, no matter how controversial, doesn't equal organized crime,' Brenecki said. The prosecution's case fell apart because it was 'built more on sensationalism than a solid legal basis,' Brenecki opined. Originally published as How Sean 'Diddy' Combs dodged sex trafficking, racketeering charges after feds built 'weak' case - that likely cost $15 million: experts
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Almost eight years after rape accusations against heavyweight movie producer Harvey Weinstein upended the film business and created a powerful social and legal movement fuelled by the hashtag #MeToo, the trial of rapper and record producer Sean 'Diddy' Combs was the music industry's moment of reckoning. The trial, during which Diddy was accused of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, included allegations that the 55-year-old rapper abused women, paid them to keep silent and used drugs to control them. Combs was on Thursday (AEST) found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitted on the remaining three charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Over the course of six weeks of testimony, witnesses on the stand in New York's Daniel Patrick Moynihan courthouse described staged sexual encounters referred to as 'freak offs', lifting the lid on a troubling Hollywood music subculture of sexual exploitation and abuse. The allegations, meticulously laid out in court, were deeply damaging to the integrity of the music business, much in the same way #MeToo left the film business wrestling with itself. Whether this becomes an inflection point for the music industry, however, remains to be seen. Diddy's acquittal on three of the five charges would suggest it may not. As with #MeToo, there is a tendency to explain away the headlines as an unanticipated deviation from business as usual, rather than a reflection of patterns of behaviour which are dangerously and deeply entrenched in the way business is done. And unlike the #MeToo scandal, which landed in a moment of deep reflection, the Diddy trial has rendered its verdict in a vastly different America: an intersection of Trumpian politics, anti-woke sentiment and aggressive rewriting of cultural history.
