Recap of ‘Diddy' trial: Hotel security guard says Sean Combs paid $100k in cash for video of assault

CNN

2 days ago

A former hotel security officer and a financial executive for Bad Boy Entertainment took the stand Tuesday in Sean 'Diddy' Combs federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial.
The money-focused testimony came as the prosecution sought to prove that Combs created a criminal enterprise using his business empire that aided him in coercing women into 'Freak Offs' and to protect his image.
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 has said the accusations fall short of a racketeering conspiracy.
The prosecution has said its coming witnesses will be Frank Piazza, a forensic video expert, and Bryana Bongolan, who has accused Combs of dangling her from a balcony. An accuser who will testify under the pseudonym 'Jane,' and who has been referred to as 'Victim-2' in the indictment, is set to testify afterward. Prosecutors indicated she will likely be on the stand for several days.
Here's what we learned in testimony Tuesday.
Eddy Garcia, who worked as a security officer at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016, testified that Combs gave him $100,000 in cash to obtain surveillance video of Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
The video of the hotel assault has played a key role in the trial so far. CNN first published surveillance video of the incident last year.
Garcia testified under an immunity order after he invoked his fifth amendment right not to incriminate himself. He is the second witness in the trial to testify under an immunity order.
Garcia testified that shortly after the assault, Kristina Khorram – who identified herself to Garcia as Combs' personal assistant – called hotel security and visited the hotel, asking to view or obtain a copy of the video. Combs also asked for the video in calls with Garcia on the security desk phone line and on Garcia's personal cell phone, Garcia said.
'He stated that I sounded like a good guy, that I sounded like I wanted to help, that something like this could ruin him,' Garcia testified. 'He was concerned that this video would get out and that it would ruin his career.'
Garcia testified that Combs also said he 'would take care of me' if Garcia helped him. Garcia said he believed at the time Combs was making a reference to money.
Garcia said he initially told Combs and Khorram to contact hotel management or obtain a subpoena for the video, but after the call from Combs to his personal cell, he called his boss, Bill Madrano, to tell him Combs was willing to pay for the video. Madrano said he would do it for $50,000, according to Garcia.
'Eddy, my angel, I knew you could help,' Combs said after learning the news, Garcia testified.
The next day, Madrano downloaded the video onto a USB thumb drive and gave it to Garcia, who then delivered it to Combs, he testified.
Garcia said Combs asked if it was the only copy of the video. Garcia then called Madrano, who confirmed it was the only copy and he had removed it from the server, he testified.
Garcia expressed to Combs that he was concerned about what would happen if Ventura filed a police report about the incident later.
Combs then called who Garcia said was Ventura on FaceTime and directed her, 'Let him know that you want this to go away, too,' according to Garcia. Ventura said on the FaceTime call that 'it wasn't a good time for this to come out and she wanted this to go away,' Garcia testified. Garcia testified it looked like Ventura but the woman was wearing a hoodie and the lighting was bad.
He said Combs asked for IDs for Garcia, Madrano and the security officer who responded to the incident, Israel Florez. 'This only works if we're all on the same page,' Combs said, according to Garcia. Garcia said that he believed Florez wouldn't agree to cooperate, so he and Madrano gave Combs the ID of a different security officer, Henry Elias.
Combs then had Garcia sign paperwork, including a declaration that it was the only existing copy of the video and a non-disclosure agreement, according to Garcia. The jury saw photos of the documents, which were printed on Combs' company letterhead and referenced the company and its New York office address.
After Garcia signed the papers, Combs left with the documents and returned with a brown bag and a money counter, he said. Combs put a total of $100,000 through the money counter in stacks of $10,000 at a time, Garcia said. Garcia testified he assumed the extra $50,000 was for himself and the other security officer.
Garcia said he gave $50,000 to Madrano and $20,000 to Elias. With the remaining $30,000, he bought a used car and did not deposit any of the money into a bank account or report it on his taxes, he said.
Garcia said that about a week or two afterward, he noticed the incident report and attached security footage were no longer on the security computer. He said he did not report it to anyone because that would 'draw more attention to the situation.'
Combs reached out to Garcia a few weeks later to ask if anyone had asked about the incident or video, Garcia testified. He said he hadn't heard anything.
Garcia testified he was contacted by law enforcement in June 2024 about the incident and said he wasn't honest about his own involvement in the situation at the time. He also testified that he deleted his messages with Florez and Elias about it.
Garcia said he later met with the government again and disclosed that Combs had paid him for the video. He said he was truthful in that meeting and all his subsequent meetings with prosecutors.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Brian Steel reviewed sections of the non-disclosure agreement and noted that it included provisions for when Garcia could discuss the information with law enforcement or other government bodies, but it also specified he had to tell notify Combs' company if he did.
Derek Ferguson – the former chief financial officer at Bad Boy Entertainment, the company that included the record label founded by Combs – testified Tuesday about the overlap of Combs' personal and business finances.
Ferguson worked for Combs and his companies from 1998 to 2017, including as the CFO at Bad Boy from 1998 to 2012. He said his responsibilities included setting budgets, accounting and record-keeping, as well as some joint ventures and strategic partnerships. Combs' personal finances were also sometimes part of Ferguson's responsibilities, he said, but there were periods during his tenure when third parties were assigned to handle them.
Ferguson said Combs would charge business and personal expenses on his corporate card 'from time to time.' Ferguson said members of his team would determine which business or entity a charge pertained to, and then they'd use that business's account to pay that charge.
Ferguson testified that the finance department managed the finances for Combs' properties that he owned in Miami, the Hamptons and New York City. Ferguson also confirmed he knew Combs would provide financial support to family and friends through his personal salaries and distributions.
The jury saw December 2011 bank statements for Combs' bank account for his home in Alpine, New Jersey. On December 14, the records showed the account transferred $20,000 to his ex-girlfriend and key trial witness Cassie Ventura. On December 23, the records show an incoming wire transfer from Rodrick Ventura, Cassie Ventura's father, for $20,000, and on December 27, Combs' account returned the $20,000.
The records match up with testimony from Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura's mother, who said she wired $20,000 to Bad Boy on Combs' request because she was 'scared about my daughter's safety' after Cassie Ventura sent her a text saying Combs was going to release sexually explicit videos and threatened to have her physically hurt. The money was returned to her account days later, she testified.
On cross-examination, Ferguson confirmed that there were employees in the finance department who went through the corporate credit card statements to determine which charges were valid business expenses and which were personal expenses. He testified it wasn't his job or Combs' to categorize credit card expenses.
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo asked Ferguson how he currently feels about Combs. After pausing for several seconds, Ferguson shook his head and said, 'I don't know how to respond to that.'