The woman at the center of Diddy's inner circle may take the stand
The woman at the center of Diddy's inner circle may take the stand
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Witness describes moment Diddy allegedly held her over a balcony
A witness in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal sex-crimes trial testified that he dangled her over a 17-story balcony and threatened to kill her.
For weeks, Sean "Diddy" Combs has watched from a courtroom table as witness after witness has taken the stand, unraveling a wide-ranging tale of alleged abuse and conspiracy.
The common thread uniting many of the witnesses? They used to work for Combs. Ex-assistants, stylists and artists for his label Bad Boy Records have come forward – some willingly and some not – and testified about a man whose status as a public icon allegedly enabled him to be a private monster.
On Thursday, June 5, a statement from prosecutors that they may have caught the big kahuna: Kristina "KK" Khorram, Combs' former chief of staff and right-hand woman. In an aside with the judge, lawyers for the government called Khorram "an agent and co-conspirator," marking the first time she has been referred to that way. The language implies Khorram has likely reached an agreement with the prosecution and will testify.
Diddy Inc.: How Sean Combs' closest aides are unraveling his jet set empire in court
Should she take the stand, she would likely be the closest person inside Combs' alleged criminal enterprise to do so. The government has accused the music mogul of leading a Promethean lifestyle powered by wealth and fame and propelled relentlessly forward by a combination of intimidation, manipulation, violence and even rape.
To accomplish that, Combs enlisted an entourage of paid support staff and enablers who lived a life most mortals could only dream of – lavish, nonstop and, like Combs himself, at the white-hot center of fame, money and power atop the entertainment world, prosecutors say. And at the center of it was Khorram.
In March, two months before Combs' trial began, she denied any involvement in the case or the flurry of civil lawsuits aimed at her "former boss," calling any allegations "untrue."
"For months, horrific accusations have been made about me in various lawsuits regarding my former boss," Khorram's statement read. "These false allegations of my involvement are causing irreparable and incalculable damage to my reputation and the emotional well-being of myself and my family. I have never condoned or aided and abetted the sexual assault of anyone. Nor have I ever drugged anyone.
"The idea that I could be accused of playing a role in – or even being a bystander to – the rape of anyone is beyond upsetting, disturbing, and unthinkable," the statement continued. "That is not who I am and my heart goes out to all victims of sexual assault."
If Khorram testifies, she will join a growing cadre of ex-employees who allegedly helped Combs run his empire, and now may be the cause of its undoing.
Diddy team admits to violence, but not sex trafficking. Will the jury see a difference?
Some legal experts say their testimony, and that of more insiders to come, will bolster prosecutors' allegations that Combs oversaw a movable party operation that crossed the line into becoming a global criminal enterprise designed to "fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct."
"It seems like each and every day, the testimony gets worse and worse for Sean Combs," said David Ring, a civil trial lawyer specializing in sexual assault cases who represented one of Harvey Weinstein's victims in a civil case, in a previous interview with USA TODAY. "And I think we're going to see more employees come forward who have to admit on the stand that they enabled these criminal actions because they felt like they were pressured into it."
Contributing: Josh Meyer, Jay Stahl
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Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
Key moments from the fourth week of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial
NEW YORK (AP) — The fourth week of Sean 'Diddy' Combs ' sex trafficking trial featured testimony from the second of two ex-girlfriends who are crucial witnesses in the government's quest to prove sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges against the hip-hop mogul. Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, has pleaded not guilty in the trial, which resumes Monday. Here are key moments from the past week: Hotel worker says Combs sought video of Cassie beating Fearing career ruin, Combs delivered $100,000 in cash to a security guard for a Los Angeles hotel in return for assurances that he was given the only security footage of Combs' 2016 attack on then-girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, the security guard testified. Eddy Garcia, 33, recounted how the deal came to be, saying he first heard from a fast talking, stuttering and 'very nervous' Combs on a phone call seeking to obtain the video of him kicking and dragging Cassie from the hotel's elevator bank into a hallway because 'if this got out it could ruin him.' Days later, Garcia said, he was the nervous one when he was greeted in an office building by a smiling Combs who called him 'Eddy, my angel' before Garcia turned over a USB drive containing the security footage. Combs then made him sign a nondisclosure agreement promising it was the only copy of the video and that Garcia would never speak of it, he said. Then, Combs, with a bodyguard at his side, fed stacks of cash from a brown bag into a rectangular money counter machine until it reached $100,000, Garcia said. He said he pocketed $30,000 and gave $50,000 to his boss and $20,000 to another hotel security guard. Garcia testified under immunity. A recording of the hotel attack on Cassie aired on CNN last year and security footage along with clips of the security tape recorded by a guard on his personal phone so he could show it to his wife have been shown repeatedly during the trial. Judge threatens Combs with trial expulsion Minutes after a prosecutor complained that Combs was seen 'nodding furiously' as his lawyer cross examined a witness on Thursday, Judge Arun Subramanian took a look himself and said he saw Combs 'nodding vigorously and looking at the jury' and doing the same later when the lawyers and the judge were having a sidebar discussion. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said prosecutors were concerned because the gestures amounted to 'testifying by nodding affirmatively' while his lawyer asked questions. During a lunch break, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo promised to speak with Combs and ensure it wouldn't happen again after the judge told him it was 'absolutely unacceptable.' The judge sternly responded: 'If it happens again, if it happens even once, I will hear an application from the government to give a curative instruction to the jury, which you do not want. Or I will consider taking further measures, which could result in the exclusion of your client from the courtroom.' Mia says she was 'brainwashed' to send Combs loving texts after rape A former Combs personal assistant who testified under the pseudonym 'Mia' told jurors that Combs had sexually assaulted her multiple times over her eight-year career, though the attacks were 'random, sporadic, so oddly spaced out' so that she thought each was the last. She said he first molested her and forcibly kissed her at his 40th birthday party before raping her months later in a guest room at his Los Angeles home. On cross examination, defense lawyer Brian Steel's suggested that she fabricated her claims to cash in on 'the #MeToo money grab against Sean Combs.' Steel confronted her with loving texts she sent Combs long after her employment ended and asked how she could tell him, as she did in a 2019 text, that she had imagined Combs rescuing her from a nightmare in which she was trapped in an elevator with R. Kelly, the singer who has since been convicted of sex trafficking. 'I was still brainwashed,' Mia explained. Defense has success with questioning of Cassie's friend The defense had one of its most successful moments of the trial when attorney Nicole Westmoreland cast doubt on the credibility of a graphic designer who says Combs once dangled her from the balcony of a 17th-floor apartment in Los Angeles. Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, a friend of Cassie who is suing Combs, had taken a cellphone image of a softball-size welt on her leg that she said occurred when Combs held her over the balcony for 10 to 15 seconds and then threw her into furniture. After it was shown to the jury, Westmoreland showed the jury cellphone metadata revealing that the photograph was taken while Combs was on tour in September 2016, staying at a Manhattan hotel. 'You agree that one person can't be in two places at the same time?' Westmoreland asked. 'In, like, theory, yeah,' Bongolan responded. 'You're not sure?' Westmoreland asked. 'Hard to answer that one,' she said. Later, Bongolan said she did not recall the exact date, but she had no doubt the balcony episode happened. Woman recalls sex performances during three years as a Combs' girlfriend A woman testifying under the pseudonym 'Jane' fought through tears and sobs to recount frequent sexual performances she participated in with male sex workers to please Combs and keep their three-year relationship alive until his September arrest. Jane's testimony, which is likely to continue deep into next week, is identical in many ways to the four-day testimony in the trial's first week by Cassie. Jane said she never wanted to have sex with other men but did it to please Combs because she loved him. Cassie described having hundreds of drug-fueled sexual performances known as 'freak-offs' in which she had sex with male sex workers for days at a time while Combs watched, sometimes directed the activity, and pleasured himself. Jane described having nearly the same experiences from 2021 until last August, though she called them 'hotel nights.' She said her relationship with Combs began with romance but later became reliant upon the sexual performances, especially after Combs began paying rent for her apartment. Defense attorneys have insisted that Jane and Combs only engaged in consensual sex and that Jane's protests to Combs in text messages were fueled by jealousy.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Recap of ‘Diddy' trial: ‘Jane' says Sean Combs threatened to cut her off financially over sexual ‘hotel nights'
A woman using the pseudonym 'Jane' took the stand for a second day of salacious testimony at the end of the fourth week of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal criminal trial. Jane's testimony comes as the prosecution seeks to show Combs and his inner circle used violence, lies, drugs, and other means to coerce Jane and Cassie Ventura into having sex with other men as part of drug-fueled sexual performances known as 'hotel nights' or 'Freak Offs.' Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. His defense has acknowledged Combs was violent but has questioned the motives of those testifying and said the women consented to the sexual activity. Jane began testifying Thursday afternoon and is expected to return to the stand next week to continue her testimony and cross-examination. Here's what we learned in testimony Friday. Jane, who dated Combs from 2021 to 2024, testified that Combs falsely promised he'd spend quality time alone with her and dismissed her repeated requests to stop participating in his sexual 'hotel nights.' Jane said that Combs promised her the things she wanted, like date nights and quality time, but said he wanted to have 'hotel nights' first. She would agree, but then afterward they'd be too exhausted and 'spent the rest of our free time sleeping,' she testified. 'I need a breather and a break from you,' she wrote in a text message, read aloud in court Friday, from November 2021 after seeing Combs spend quality time with another woman shortly after Jane had a 'hotel night' with him. 'This doesn't make me feel good at all. Your true intentions with me are in plain sight.' Jane testified that they had a 'hotel night' on her birthday in 2022 in which she had sex with another man at Combs' direction. Soon after, she saw on social media that Combs had a 'big grandiose birthday' for another woman he was dating, and the contrast was 'heartbreaking,' Jane said. 'I don't ever want to do another hotel night,' she texted Combs around that time. 'I didn't want to do those things with you on my birthday but I wanted to make sure we had a good time.' In 2023, Combs suggested she fly to New York to visit him, but she was hesitant because she figured he'd want to have a 'hotel night' while she was there, she testified. He promised her they would have a romantic time just the two of them, so she agreed to go, she said. But when she was mid-air, Combs texted her about getting 'entertainment' for them, and she felt 'really disappointed,' she testified. Jane said they bickered 'about just how I was done with this and I didn't want to do this and like why every time I see you this is happening.' They ended up having a 'hotel night' that night, she testified. Jane also recounted two times when the man brought in for the 'hotel night' was someone she was not attracted to, and how Combs kept pushing for her to try and engage with him regardless. Regarding one of those times, in 2023, Jane testified Combs said to her, 'Are you sure? Maybe just a little bit' even though she said she knew that 'this was definitely not something that I could fake doing.' She said they eventually excused the man because she was 'repulsed by him,' and then another man came to the hotel after. Jane said she and Combs entered into a 'love contract' in 2023 in which he agreed to pay her $10,000-per-month rent as an allowance. He is still paying for her rent, even now, she testified on Friday. She also testified he threatened to cut her off financially if she stopped participating in 'hotel nights.' In text messages from August 2023 that were read aloud in court, amid a discussion about a 'hotel night,' Combs told her he put $15,000 on credit for things in her new house. When Jane then expressed hesitation about having the 'hotel night,' in part because she was having her period, Combs became angry and accused her of using him for money, according to the texts. Days later, she expressed frustrations to Combs with how he treated her, and Combs sent her an audio message threatening to stop financially supporting her. 'I'm about to really disappear on you, you feel me?' Combs said in the audio message that was played aloud in court for the jury. He said she had a 'rude awakening' coming if she didn't stop fighting him. 'You better get on your job, that's all it is,' Combs said. 'Because you got me on my job.' Jane testified that she understood her 'job' was 'taking care of him, being good to him and making sure he was happy,' which included the sexual encounters. She said his 'job' was taking care of her financially. Jane also texted Combs that he had been 'making things feel completely transactional lately' and was 'threatening me any chance that you get.' She testified that Combs was constantly reminding her that he paid for her home. Around the time when she and Combs entered into their 'love contract,' Combs also paid for Jane to get veneers 'because he didn't like my teeth,' Jane testified. At one point thereafter when Jane texted him complaining that she hadn't seen him alone outside of a hotel room for the 'hotel nights,' Combs responded, 'Well get over it please. Look at the roof over your head and that pretty smile. I don't want to do anything if that's still an issue.' In late 2023, she sent him messages saying she didn't want to play this role in his life anymore. 'I feel it's the only reason you have me around and why you pay for the house,' she wrote. 'I don't want to feel obligated to perform these nights for you.' Combs responded to the text, 'Girl stop.' The jury heard audio from a 'hotel night' in which Combs was dismissive of a request from Jane to have her male sex partner wear a condom. The audio was an excerpt from a video recording of a 'hotel night' that captured a conversation between Jane, Combs and a man named Don. On the recording, Jane said, 'you promised' to Combs, who expressed his disapproval. Jane said on the stand that she and Combs had a conversation before that 'hotel night' in which he told her it would be okay if she wanted the man she would have sex with to wear a condom. He eventually gave the 'entertainer' a condom, Jane said. She said she asked Combs to allow the 'entertainers' to wear condoms several times, but Combs was typically dismissive. Jane was asked why she needed Combs' permission to have the man wear a condom, and Jane seemed to get emotional and said she was 'still trying to process' that. She said she didn't insist on the man wearing a condom because then Combs would be 'unhappy.' At another point in her testimony, the jury saw 15 photos that weren't released to the public (none of the exhibits were shown to the public in court). Jane testified that each of the photos showed her and another man during a 'hotel night' and that Combs was present for all of the nights pictured. One female juror placed her hand over her face as the sexually explicit photos were displayed on the screens in front of them. Jane testified that when Combs would run out of drugs during a 'hotel night,' he'd call an assistant, a butler or one of his security guards to bring more. She recalled a time in 2022 when Combs directed her to pick up drugs from security personnel at his Los Angeles home and fly with them to meet him in Miami. She communicated with Combs' aide Kristina Khorram about picking up the 'package' at Combs' home. Jane said she asked Khorram if this was 'safe and okay,' and Khorram said, 'It's fine I do it all the time.' Jane flew with the drugs to Miami and later took ecstasy with Combs that she said came from the package. Jane testified that Combs gave her drugs during the 'hotel nights' that kept her awake for longer and made it easier for her to participate in the 'fantasy.' Jane cried and was emotional as she detailed one 'hotel night' in which she had sex with three other men, at Combs' insistence, on her birthday. Jane said she flew to Miami in 2023 to celebrate her birthday with Combs and he told her they'd spend quality time together. When they went to dinner, Combs brought up plans for a 'hotel night,' and she reluctantly agreed to participate. Jane said the first man who showed up that she never met before felt like a stranger and it was upsetting. 'More of an invasive moment because it was my birthday and I didn't want to do this on my birthday,' she said, crying. After the man left, Jane and Combs moved to a different suite at the hotel and Combs 'shifted his energy' and became more loving. He had arranged for cake, flowers and balloons in the suite, and they had some alone time, she said. But then another man came to the room for sex, and then a third man. 'I acted like it was nothing, but inside I hated it,' she said, adding between tears that she acted that way because she loved Combs. On the stand, Jane grew very emotional while discussing the birthday. She heaved more than once as she cried, and prosecutor Maurene Comey asked her repeatedly if she needed a break. Each time Jane said no. At another point in her testimony, a box of tissues was passed to her in the witness box by the courtroom deputy. After that birthday, Combs left her in the room and went on a private vacation with another romantic interest, Jane testified. According to messages read aloud in court, she texted him, 'Why do you lie to me?' She wrote to him that she wanted to get off the 'hamster wheel' and said, 'I didn't want to do all of that on my birthday.' Jane said she and Combs were on a break for about a month after that, but got back together.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘I was repulsed': Diddy ex-girlfriend recounts sex marathons with strangers
LOWER MANHATTAN — Days-long, drug-fueled sex sessions with strangers, organized and recorded by her boyfriend, hip hop and fashion mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, is what an anonymous witness claimed on the witness stand on Friday. It was the latest development in the racketeering, sex trafficking, and prostitution trial against the entertainment impresario. More Crime News It took place in a courtroom on the 15th floor of the federal courthouse on Pearl Street. The witness, who is officially identified only as 'Jane Doe,' or just 'Jane,' insisted on anonymity. She had been Combs's girlfriend from 2021 until 2024. She broke down crying on the stand multiple times during her soft-voiced, low-volume testimony. She described what she called 'hotel nights' — marathon sex sessions with men whom Combs mostly found on the escort website Cowboys4Angels or on pornography sites, she said. Jane testified that the sessions were at least once a week, and usually longer than just one night. 'What was the longest hotel night you remember?' the prosecutor asked in testimony. 'New Year's 2022,' Jane replied. She elaborated that it lasted 'Three-and-a-half days.' 'Did you sleep?' asked the prosecutor. 'Not 'til the end,' Jane said. When asked by the prosecutor how she was able to have such stamina in having sex with other men while Combs watched, commented, stimulated himself, and sometimes filmed, Jane said it was drug-fueled. 'Ecstasy, Molly, cocaine,' she said, '2C, weed,' she continued, referring to a psychedelic drug powder, and cocaine. It was all supplied by Combs, Jane testified, adding, 'I just felt like I had to take them. If I didn't, it would feel too real.' She also testified that on two occasions she did 'hotel nights' without using illicit drugs. On one of these occasions, three different men were involved, as Combs watched, she said. 'I hated it so much,' she testified. 'I was just disgusted, repulsed. So mad at myself,' she said. The testimony is part of prosecutors' strategy to show that 'Jane,' the third former girlfriend of Diddy's to testify about his pattern of having them have sex with unknown men while he watched, is part of a pattern of criminal exploitation. That's was pointed out by Heather Cucolo, a professor at New York Law School who's a specialist in mental health and psychological issues and the law. 'The prosecution has to make sure that the jury understands that they have to listen to this whole picture,' Cucolo said in an interview. She said that in order for the prosecution to prove its case of racketeering, sex trafficking and prostitution, it has to show that 'the abuse, the control, and the coercion, and the drug-fueled marathon were part of this overarching criminal enterprise.' 'Jane' takes the witness stand again on Monday, when she's scheduled to begin to be questioned by the defense. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
