Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ mother sued by Bad Boy co-founder
Bad Boy Records co-founder Kirk Burrowes has sued Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs’ mother for fraud. Burrowes filed a lawsuit on February 26th, claiming Janice Combs “secretly” and “unlawfully” took control of his 25% ownership stake in the label after Sean allegedly forced him into signing over his share.
The suit was brought to Manhattan federal court, accusing Sean Combs of threatening him with physical violence. Burrowes accused Janice Combs of “fraudulent concealment” for taking away his Bad Boy stake. He alleged a recent investigation uncovered “irrefutable evidence” from around 1998.
According to documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Janice allegedly “ruthlessly betrayed” Burrowes when she worked with her son to gain power and exclude him from the company. The lawsuit claims Janice blamed Sean as she remained in contact with Burrowes for years.
“[Janice] carefully maintained a facade of integrity, portraying herself as an innocent bystander while orchestrating plaintiff’s financial and professional downfall behind the scenes,” the filing reads. “Through false assurances and calculated deceit, defendant [Janice] led plaintiff to believe that she had no knowledge of the fraudulent transfer, effectively suppressing any opportunity for plaintiff to reclaim his rightful stake in [Bad Boy].”
According to the suit, Janice told Burrowes she would help “rectify the theft of his ownership interest.” Instead, he claims he was “blacklisted” and left “destitute.” Burrowes is asking for compensatory damages of the value of his 25% ownership stake or the return of his ownership interest. He’s also seeking punitive damages and an independent audit of the label’s total earnings.
Burrowes previously sued Sean Combs for allegedly cheating him out of $25million. He claimed that in May 1996, Combs stormed into his office wielding a baseball bat and forced him to sign a contract to forfeit his ownership rights. However, the lawsuit was dismissed as it was beyond the statute of limitations.
Combs is currently detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after being charged with racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation for purposes of prostitution in September. He has pled not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him. His trial will start on May 5th.