American hip-hop mogul, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been arrested by federal agents in Manhattan, New York.
Diddy was arrested in a hotel lobby and taken into custody on Monday after being indicted by a grand jury.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, confirmed the arrest in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.
“We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” Williams said, without giving further information about the charges.
Although the details of the indictment remain unknown, Diddy’s legal team released a statement, acknowledging that while Combs is not perfect, he is not a criminal.
The statement, as reported by Rolling Stone, expressed disappointment in the decision to prosecute the rapper.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” the statement reads.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person but he Is not a criminal.
“To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Diddy has been under federal investigation since March.
His legal issues first arose when his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, filed a lawsuit last November, accusing him of years of sexual and physical abuse.
Though they reached a settlement within a day, other women have since filed lawsuits, alleging sexual misconduct, physical abuse, and sex trafficking.
On March 25, federal agents raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, seizing electronic devices after stopping him at a Miami-area airport.
At the time, authorities did not make a public statement, but a federal official later revealed that the investigation involved human trafficking allegations.
Despite denying the accusations and describing the raids as an excessive show of force, Diddy’s troubles continued in May when CNN released hotel surveillance footage showing him physically assaulting Cassie Ventura.
The Hip-hop legend later issued an apology, but the incident severely damaged his public image.
As a result, Combs sold his stakes in Revolt, the media company he founded, and in DeLeón tequila, which he co-owned with spirits giant Diageo. A New York charter school network also ended its partnership with him.
Furthermore, Diddy’s mansion in Los Angeles’ Holmby Hills, one of the properties raided by federal agents in March, was put up for sale this month with a $61.5 million asking price.