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USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Everything that came out of Diddy's trial, from disturbing allegations to photos of belongings
This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing. Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial had no shortage of disturbing testimony and illuminating evidence. Even for those following every step of the way in the eight-week trial, from jury selection to witness testimony, closing arguments and jury deliberations, there were a lot of claims and evidence to parse through. One juror described taking 350 pages of handwritten notes during testimony, and it was clear the 12-person jury had much to sort through before handing down the verdict that acquitted Combs of his top criminal charges. Before telling the judge they had reached a unanimous vote on four of five criminal counts on July 1, the jury asked to review testimony transcripts and refresh their memories regarding what Cassie Ventura Fine said about Combs' physical assault at the InterContinental Hotel in 2016 as well as his abusive actions at the Cannes Film Festival. They also requested testimony from Daniel Phillip, who was hired to have sex with Ventura Fine. Here are the key moments and pieces of evidence that led to the split verdict. More: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' 'Diddy Inc.' empire of mansions, cars and jet likely spared by verdict Cassie Ventura Fine's testimony in Diddy trial included 'freak offs,' other graphic abuse The "Me & U" singer testified May 13-16 and laid bare the raw details of their complicated relationship, including her participation in alleged drug-fueled sexual performances labeled "freak offs," the physical and emotional abuse she said she faced just a few years into their relationship and the violence she allegedly witnessed while with Combs. Explaining why she decided to testify, Ventura Fine told the court, "I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the shame, the guilt." More: Where to watch the Sean 'Diddy' Combs documentaries on sex-crimes trial, allegations Toward the end of her second day of testimony, Ventura Fine delved into the years following her 2018 breakup from Combs. She said she'd put a $30 million price tag on the rights to a book she'd written about her alleged experiences, a project she'd characterized as an effort to help him understand what he'd put her through. But after he allegedly failed to respond, she sued him in November 2023, alleging he had raped, trafficked, sexually assaulted and physically abused her. The two came to an agreement by the following day and announced Ventura Fine would dismiss the lawsuit following an unspecified settlement. It was finally revealed on May 14 that the settlement amounted to $20 million, paid for by Combs and his companies. 'I understand': Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial juror breaks silence on verdict Diddy's former personal assistant describes alleged rape "Mia," a woman using a pseudonym who worked for Combs from 2009 to 2017, testified on May 29 that Combs sexually assaulted her on "more than one" occasion. While living with Combs at his Beverly Hills mansion from 2010 to 2014, she claimed she lived in a room that couldn't lock. This was where, at one point, Combs raped her as she was asleep in a bottom bunk, Mia told the courtroom through sobs. She said she felt like she couldn't tell him "no" about anything. "I couldn't tell him 'no' about a sandwich," she said. She worried that he would "fire me and ruin my future. I knew his power and his control over me. I didn't want to lose everything I had worked so hard for." OPINION: Diddy verdict got it wrong because we don't recognize what sex trafficking looks like Diddy's ex-girlfriend extensively detailed 'hotel nights' with escorts that could last 3 days "Jane," a woman using a pseudonym who dated Combs on-and-off from 2021 to 2024, tearfully testified about feeling pressured to take drugs, have nonstop sex with escorts and deprioritize her work, for fear of Combs' disapproval and cease financial contributions. She said that "freak offs" would happen every week or every other week for much of their relationship and could last as long as three and a half days. In 2023, Jane said she texted Combs that she was feeling "disgusted with myself" after one night of fun had turned into their entire relationship. She wrote that she didn't "want to lose the roof over my head" or "feel obligated to perform these nights with you." At the time, Jane said Combs was paying her $10,000 rent. Jane sobbed as she described one "hotel night" that happened as they celebrated her birthday in Miami in 2023. What was supposed to be a night for "just me and him" turned into Jane agreeing to have sex with three men consecutively to please Combs, she said. Did Cassie consent to Diddy? When it comes to abuse, there can't be consent. "I just feel like at this point I've done so many of these," she testified. "I just know how to tune it out." Diddy still pays for ex-girlfriend's home Jane testified that Combs paid her $10,000 a month in rent as part of a "love contract" that he proposed between them, and he also got her veneers. "Sean said, let's do a love contract," she said. "He asked me how much allowance I want going forward." There were gasps in the overflow room when Jane was asked who was paying her rent now and she responded, "Sean (Combs)." Combs is also still paying for Jane's lawyer. Cassie's mom said she wired Diddy $20K Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura Fine's mother, testified that she wired Combs $20,000 when the rapper was threatening to release sex tapes of her daughter. Ventura said the money came back to her four or five days after Combs pushed her to wire it to his company. "He was angry that he spent money on her and that she had been with another person," she said on the stand, going on to add that she sent the money because she "was scared for my daughter's safety." More: Abusive lifestyle vs. a criminal enterprise: Inside the Diddy trial and what the verdict means Evidence in Diddy's trial showed drugs in his hotel room, hundreds of baby oil bottles Throughout the trial, prosecutors released evidence shown to jurors to the public. Pictures taken by federal agents showed the items in Combs' possession up until his September 2024 arrest, which included hundreds of baby oil and lubricant bottles in his Los Angeles and Miami homes – uncovered during Homeland Security raids in March 2024 – as well as drugs found in his hotel room after he was taken into custody. The government also presented photos of damage to a Porsche belonging to Kid Cudi, who testified about his belief that Combs was responsible for a Molotov cocktail that exploded in the car. However, some evidence in the criminal case, including footage of Combs' "freak offs," was off-limits to the public and only shown to jurors due to the graphic nature of the content, which was deemed a privacy violation by the witnesses –Ventura Fine and Jane – who were shown in the videos. Read on to see what prosecutors claimed was evidence of Combs' criminal enterprise. Raid of Diddy's LA home revealed 900 bottles of Astroglide, bags of ketamine On June 13, Andre Lamon from Homeland Security Investigations testified in Combs' criminal trial that he and other agents found 900 bottles of Astroglide, 200 bottles of baby oil and multiple bags of ketamine while raiding Combs' Los Angeles mansion. The jury was shown photos from the March 25, 2024, search through the sprawling is what agents discovered at Combs' multimillion-dollar Holmby Hills home. On her third day of testimony, Ventura Fine also revealed the extent of her and Combs' drug use in their decade together. Combs was once hospitalized due to "a very strong" opiate, she told defense lawyers, revealing the incident occurred around the time Whitney Houston died in February 2012. Raid of Diddy's Miami home found cocaine, guns, sexual enhancement product In the third week of Combs' trial on sex crimes and racketeering, Homeland Security Investigations special agent Gerard Gannon discussed his team's March 2024 raid of Combs' Miami estate. He and fellow agents allegedly found drugs including ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, hallucinogenic mushrooms and heroin, as well as firearms, gun accessories, Johnson's baby oil and Astroglide lubricant. A photo also showed a product promoted and sold for sexual enhancement. Diddy's arrest: Baby oil, drugs found in NYC hotel room On May 19, 2025, prosecutors released images of the belongings found in Combs' hotel room after the embattled music mogul was arrested at a New York hotel on Sept. items included baby oil, lubricant, $9,000 in cash, prescription medication and drugs that tested positive for ketamine and MDMA. Diddy's baby oil use was known at his favorite hotels Multiple witnesses' testimony touched on Combs' reported use of baby oil in "freak-offs." On May 22, for example, Frederic Zemmour, the general manager of the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills luxury hotel, walked jurors through logs of Combs' stays at the celebrity-favorite institution. For one of Combs' stays in 2015, the hotel's documents said that the rapper "ALWAYS spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil," and that his room should be placed "out of order upon departure for deep cleaning." The notes also said to "please authorize an extra $1000 when guest stays with us to cover any room damages." A housekeeping note said to "monitor outside his room/down the hall to spray air freshener." Alleged Molotov cocktail tore up the inside of Kid Cudi's Porsche Kid Cudi took the stand on May 22 to reveal Combs allegedly broke into his home in December 2011 after finding out Cudi was romantically involved with Ventura Fine. When the "Pursuit of Happiness" musician arrived at his house, he noticed no one was inside but some of his belongings were in disarray. Cudi said he received a call in January 2012 that his car was on fire, and jurors were shown photos of the destroyed vehicle. He later confronted Combs in a meeting, asking, "What about my vehicle?" to which Combs allegedly responded, "What vehicle?" Combs' team has repeatedly denied his involvement in the incident. While cross-examining Los Angeles law enforcement officials on May 28, the defense cast doubt on Combs' role by emphasizing police found a potential hit for female DNA on the bottle used in the car explosion. Contributing: Gina Barton, Aysha Bagchi, Josh Meyer, Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY staff If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and Spanish via chat and at 800-656-4673. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Sean Combs' ‘Diddy Inc.' empire of mansions, cars and jet likely spared by verdict
With Combs not guilty of racketeering, the US is likely limited in what it can seek through asset forfeiture, legal experts and former prosecutors say Sean 'Diddy' Combs's acquittal on the most serious criminal charges, including racketeering, doesn't just mean he'll likely serve significantly less prison time. The music mogul will likely also get to keep his vast 'Diddy Inc.' empire of mansions, business entities, exotic cars and other perks of his high-flying, near-billionaire lifestyle accumulated over several decades, legal experts told USA TODAY. 'The government overreached. They wanted a RICO conviction so they could then go seize Comb's assets under RICO forfeiture laws,' said Los Angeles-based civil trial lawyer David Ring, who specializes in high-profile sexual assault cases. 'Thats not going to happen now.' 'He was facing life in prison if convicted of the RICO charges,' Ring said of Combs. 'Instead, he likely serves a couple years in prison and returns to his business empire.' The sweeping indictment of Combs under a federal racketeering, or RICO, statute, meant the Justice Department intended to go after anything of Combs' that was used to help facilitate his alleged crimes, said James Trusty, the former longtime chief of the DOJ's Organized Crime and Gang Section. On July 2, in finding Combs guilty only of transportation to engage in prostitution, the jury also effectively shut down the Justice Department's ability to go after most of Combs' assets, Trusty said. 'I think that with the acquittal on the most serious counts, the universe of potential harm to his empire is greatly diminished,' said Trusty, who now specializes in representing clients in RICO and other complex federal cases. Inside the trial: Abusive lifestyle vs. a criminal enterprise: Inside the Diddy trial and what the verdict means The Justice Department had no immediate comment about whether it would seek to go after any of Combs' assets. According to Trusty and another former top DOJ official, it is still possible for the U.S. government to seek forfeiture of a far narrower range of Combs' assets. To do so, they must prove they were used in furtherance of the two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with 'freak offs' involving Combs' two former girlfriends, Cassie Ventura Fine and 'Jane,' a pseudonym. But, Trusty said, 'I think that the RICO case told a decades-long story' of how Combs allegedly used his empire as part of a criminal racketeering enterprise from 2008 to the present. Without Combs' conviction on the RICO and sex trafficking charges, Trusty said, 'The forfeiture is going to be much narrower in terms of both time and reach.' 'There may be some property, there may be some financial component, that is considered either facilitating property or proceeds' of those two counts, Trusty said. What Combs was convicted of, he said, 'Is really a glorified prostitution charge. It's just literally like prostitution across the state lines.' Trusty told USA TODAY in May that federal prosecutors wrote a "very broadly worded forfeiture allegation.' That included places where so-called marathon sex 'freak offs' between two of his girlfriends and paid escorts occurred and any vehicles used in getting the participants there. Combs was also indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Hiring a former DOJ asset forfeiture expert When Combs was first charged, his all-star defense team was so alarmed that it hired as a consultant Stefan Cassella, the former deputy chief of the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, USA TODAY reported exclusively at the time. At the time of his hiring, and after the verdict, Cassella said he could not comment on the specifics of the case because of his involvement in it. Broadly speaking, though, he said that by charging Combs under RICO, formally the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the government was taking an aggressive approach to seizing as many of Combs' assets as possible. 'As alleged in the Indictment, for years, Sean Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence and obstruction of justice,' U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said after Combs' arrest in September 2024. A forfeiture target with $400 million in assets By becoming a successful entrepreneur in the music, fashion, liquor and other realms, Combs had amassed a personal wealth of at least $740 million by 2019, according to Forbes magazine. (Combs and his team would later claim he had reached billionaire status.) At its founding in 2013, Combs Enterprises included his New York City-based Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Wines and Spirits, the AQUAhydrate water firm, Revolt Media, Sean John fashion and fragrances, Capital Preparatory Charter Schools and The Sean Combs Foundation. Over the years, it expanded to include new business units and ventures such as Empower Global, Our Fair Share and Love Records, which focused on R&B. Combs owned multimillion-dollar mega-mansions in Los Angeles and Miami and a Gulfstream G550 jet valued at more than $25 million, which he used to ferry his entourage from one party hotspot to another. Also potentially open to forfeiture was Combs' Bad Boy Records, which has generated big profits from recordings and music publishing rights since he launched the company in 1993. Combs is also believed to have an extensive art collection, including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In 2018, he was revealed as the mystery buyer of the renowned painting 'Past Times' by Kerry James Marshall for $21.1 million. And at one time, his fleet of at least 20 luxury cars included a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and an ultra-luxury Mercedes known as a Maybach. 'A much narrower basis' to go after Combs' assets In November 2023, Combs' empire began to crumble following allegations of rape, beatings and abuse by his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura Fine. In her testimony against Combs during the trial, Ventura Fine said she settled that case with Combs agreeing to pay her $20 million. He has also lost significant other business after Ventura Fine's allegations prompted a spate of other lawsuits and accusations. Forbes more recently estimated his net worth at closer to $400 million. Now it will likely be up to the jury that found Combs not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking to determine whether any of his assets should be forfeited, said Trusty. He said it's likely that Combs and his legal team could offer up some small piece of his empire to settle that aspect of the case. 'With the acquittal, you just have a much narrower basis, factually and legally, to go after his assets,' Trusty said. 'I think it cries out for an agreement where the defense will offer up something like $100,000 or a million, and use that sentencing to say, he's already paid this severe price. He's had civil settlements with complainants, and now he's forfeiting X amount of dollars.' 'So now we'll see how hyper aggressive the government wants to be about it,' Trusty said. Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits Besides the federal criminal case, Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits from men and women who claim the rapper abused them, which could also cut into his fortunes significantly. To date, more than 70 lawsuits have been filed against Combs. In October, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee announced he would represent 120 individual accusers. Alleged victims represented by Buzbee now account for about half of the lawsuits filed so far. The music mogul was hit with yet another civil suit as jurors began deliberating in the sweeping federal sex-crimes case against him. In that one, Combs was accused in a civil complaint of drugging and raping an Orange County, California man in 2021, according to the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY. In a statement to USA TODAY June 30, Combs' legal team said, "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor."
