
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of threatening and abusing staff in superseding indictment
Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs has been accused of threatening and abusing his staff in a new indictment. Filed on March 6th, the latest filing is built on Combs allegedly being abusive in the workplace and subjecting employees to forced labour.
Southern District of New York prosecutors claim the Bad Boy boss took control of employees’ lives, leading them to “believe they would be harmed—including by losing their jobs—if they did not comply with his demands.”
The indictment reads, “With respect to one employee, Combs used physical force, physiological harm, financial harm, reputational harm and/or threats of the same to cause the employee to engage in sex acts with Combs.”
Combs is accused of weaponising his company and staff to carry out his demands, “whom he forced to work long hours with little sleep, through use of, among other things, physical force, psychological harm, financial harm and reputational harm, and/or threats of the same.”
He’s facing up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him, which include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs is currently jailed at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, with his trial set to begin on May 5th. He pled not guilty following his September arrest after the Department of Homeland Security raided his properties.
Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, responded to the indictment, claiming many former employees would defend the ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ artist.
“Mr. Combs has said it before and will say it again: he vehemently denies the accusations made by the SDNY,” he said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Many former employees stand by his side, prepared to attest to the dedication, hard work, and inspiration they experienced while helping build groundbreaking, award-winning businesses.”
He added, “He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will.”