(NewsNation) — Rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose homes were raided in a federal sex trafficking investigation, is facing a mounting list of lawsuits that allege abuse and sexual assault by multiple victims spanning over 30 years.
Department of Homeland Security agents searched two properties belonging to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami in March as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation, NewsNation affiliate WPIX reported.
But while a criminal prosecution could be brewing for the music producer, he has already been hit with a slew of civil suits stretching back to alleged wrongdoing starting in the early 1990s.
A number of his accusers say they were teens when they were allegedly assaulted by him and several attest in their lawsuits he had rage-filled violent tendencies.
Many stem from the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that creates a one-year window for victims 18 or over to bring cases in the state after any statutes of limitations have expired.
In December, Combs put out a statement on social media saying, “Enough is enough” and that he has “sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy.”
“Let me be absolutely clear,” he wrote. “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
Here are all the legal complaints and allegations that have been leveled against the hip-hop giant:
Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs sued by Sinaloa cartel member
August 2024
A self-proclaimed member of the Sinaloa drug cartel filed a lawsuit against Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment, though it was swiftly dismissed by Chief U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Aug. 12.
Alfredo P. Gonzalez, currently incarcerated in Colorado, sought $666,000 in damages as he claims Combs defamed him in a way that ruined his illicit drug business.
According to Gonzalez’s complaint, he refused to assist Combs’ alleged requests to traffic minors for parties — after which he was told his life would be made “hell” due to the “power [Combs] has in the streets.” Gonzalez further alleged that this led to the loss of his New York-based drug business contacts.
Swain ruled, though, that Gonzalez lacked legal standing to sue, as his claimed injuries stemmed from illegal activities not protected by law.
Producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones sues Combs for sexual assault, sex trafficking
Feb. 26, 2024: Rodney Jones, a music producer known professionally as “Lil Rod,” filed a lawsuit in New York federal court saying Combs sexually assaulted him and forced him to have sex with prostitutes.
The suit says there were repeated instances of unsolicited groping and sexual touching and that the man had to work in a bathroom while Combs showered and walked around naked.
In his suit, Jones alleged he lived and traveled with Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, during which time he recorded hours of video and audio of Combs, his staff and others “engaging in serious illegal activity.”
Among the allegations, Jones said Combs forced him to procure prostitutes and engage in sex acts against his will. He also accused Combs of drugging and sex trafficking underage girls and sex workers at the parties he threw in his home.
The suit also names Combs’ adult son, Justin; his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam as defendants.
Jones’ attorney called Combs’ Bad Boy businesses a “RICO enterprise” that “failed to adequately monitor, warn, or supervise” the actions of Combs, his son and his chief of staff.
A RICO enterprise is any individual or group that acts together to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Jones amended his lawsuit in March adding several more allegations including that Combs was involved in a shooting at a recording studio in 2022 and also that actor Cuba Gooding Jr. groped him while on Combs’ yacht in 2023.
Natania Reuben — who was shot in a nightclub in 1999 — said Jones’ lawsuit inspired her to come forward about that night. She claimed during an appearance on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that Combs was the shooter, not rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrow, who was convicted.
“For the past quarter of a century, he (Combs) has vehemently denied that he was responsible, even though I knew wholeheartedly, and so many others who are in the problem. We all knew he was responsible,” Reuben said.
Jane Doe sues Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs saying he, others gang-raped and trafficked her
Dec. 6, 2023: Another woman filed a federal lawsuit under a “Jane Doe” pseudonym saying Combs, Bad Boy Records executive Harvey Pierre and a third “assailant” gang-raped her when she was 17 after trafficking her across state lines in 2003.
Doe said that she met Pierre as a junior in high school when he approached her at a lounge in Detroit near her home.
Pierre and Combs convinced the then-teen to take a private jet with them and a third person to Combs’ recording studio in New York City.
That’s where they drugged her and then began taking turns raping her, she alleged.
“As the night wore on, the 17-year old Ms. Doe became more and more inebriated, eventually to the point that she could not possibly have consented to having sex with anyone, much less someone twice her age,” the lawsuit stated.
“As a result of being raped by Mr. Combs, Mr. Pierre and the Third Assailant, Ms. Doe suffered significant emotional distress and feelings of shame that have plagued her life and personal relationships for 20 years.”
In her filing, the attorney representing the woman said that “seeing two other women bravely speak out against Mr. Combs and Mr. Pierre, respectively, gave Ms. Doe the confidence to tell her story as well.”
Shortly after, 18 different brands cut ties with Combs’ Black-owned e-commerce venture, Empower Global, due to the allegations, Rolling Stone reported.
Liza Gardner sues Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs and singer Aaron Hall of rape and abuse
Nov. 24, 2023: Liza Gardner filed a lawsuit against Combs and R&B singer and songwriter Aaron Hall for battery, sexual assault and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Garner said in 1990, she and her friend met Combs during an event at the offices of MCA Records, and the two were invited back to Hall’s home.
There, she “was coerced into having sex with Combs,” the suit alleged.
“After Combs finished doing his business, Liza Gardner laid in bed, shocked and traumatized,” the lawsuit stated. “As she was in the process of getting dressed, Hall barged into the room, pinned her down and forced Liza Gardner to have sex with him.”
In the days following the alleged assault, Combs became “irate” and beat and choked her until she passed out, the lawsuit stated. He was also searching for her friend to stop her from telling anyone what he had done to Gardner.
Alongside Hall and Combs, the suit names MCA Music Entertainment and Geffen Records as defendants.
“These are fabricated claims falsely alleging misconduct from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute. This is nothing but a money grab. Because of Mr. Combs’ fame and success, he is an easy target for anonymous accusers who lie without conscience or consequence for financial benefit,” a spokesperson for Combs said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone.
Student files lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs alleging sexual assault, abuse and ‘revenge porn’
Nov. 23, 2023: One day prior to Gardner’s case, former Syracuse University college student Joi Dickerson-Neal sued Combs in Manhattan Supreme Court saying the rapper drugged her, sexually assaulted her and filmed the assault in 1991.
Dickerson-Neal said Combs then showed the video to others as a form of “revenge porn.”
She also named Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records and Combs Enterprises as defendants in the suit and demanded a trial by jury.
The former student said in her suit Combs asked her on a date while she was home on a school break and that she “reluctantly” agreed.
“During their date, Combs had intentionally drugged her, resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk,” the suit alleged.
Combs then took Dickerson-Neal to his home where he allegedly assaulted her and filmed it. He then showed the video to several people, the suit stated.
“The sexual assault and public exposure of it, caused her to suffer overwhelming feelings of humiliation, embarrassment, violation, and constant apprehension about who all viewed it,” her suit stated.
She filed her suit under New York’s Adult Survivor Act.
A spokesperson for Combs called the lawsuit “an example of how a well-intentioned law can be turned on its head” in a statement to TMZ.
“Ms. Dickerson’s 32-year-old story is made up and not credible,” the statement said. “Mr. Combs never assaulted her and she implicates companies that did not exist. This is purely a money grab and nothing more.”
Singer Cassie Ventura sues Sean Combs for sexual assault, abuse and violence
Nov. 16, 2023: Less than a week before Dickerson-Neal’s case, R&B singer Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a civil suit against Combs and his companies in New York federal court alleging sex trafficking, human trafficking, sexual battery, sexual assault and gender-motivated violence, among other causes of action.
Ventura alleged that she became lured into and eventually trapped in a decade-long pattern of abuse involving forced drug use, rape, battery and forced sex acts with male sex workers.
In the lawsuit, she said Combs brought her into his “ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle” when she was just 19 and he was 37. She also said he exerted control over her entire life, including gaining access to her medical records.
“Mr. Combs would violently beat Ms. Ventura, leaving bruises on her body,” the suit alleged.
At the time the suit was filed, Combs attorney Ben Brafman said Combs “vehemently denies” the allegations.
Her suit also named his business entities: Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records, Epic Records, Combs Enterprises, and Doe Corps.
Ventura also brought her suit under the Adult Survivor Act.
Just one day after filing the lawsuit, Ventura settled out of court with Combs. The terms of the settlement are unknown.
The deal was reached “amicably,” Ventura said in a statement in which she thanked her family, fans and lawyers.
“Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing,” Brafman said in a statement.
Other allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Several other people have also come forward alleging similar abuse they either experienced or saw firsthand.
In a 2019 interview with controversial internet personality Tasha K, Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Gina Huyn, known as Virginia V, accused him of once “stomping” on her stomach, “punching” her and trying to pay her to abort their child, reported Vulture.
“He stomped on my stomach really hard — like, took the wind out of my breath,” she said, according to the outlet. “I couldn’t breathe. He kept hitting me. I was pleading to him, ‘Can you just stop? I can’t breathe.’”
She added that “everyone” around Diddy “allowed” the abuse to occur.
In an open letter to Combs published in Rolling Stone, Singer Tiffany Red, a friend of Ventura, confirmed the abuse he inflicted on her.
Red said she herself was traumatized by seeing the violence.
“Your abuse of power has inflicted ongoing harm on countless individuals, including myself, my friends, and my peers,” she wrote. “ You are a literal pillar in Black music. So many of us looked up to you. This moment hurts for us, too, but no one deserves to endure all this, Puff. It’s not right.”
Vulture also reported that Diddy was sued in 2017 by his personal chef, Cindy Ruela, who filed a lawsuit against him claiming sexual harassment, failure to pay overtime and retaliation.
She said Combs would force her to cook and serve food around naked men. The lawsuit was settled two years later. but no terms were divulged.
Aubrey O’Day — former member of the band Danity Kane that was formed by Combs on MTV’s “Making the Band” — said in a YouTube video she was asked to sign an NDA not to disparage Combs or his label. After news broke about Cassie’s lawsuit, O’Day posted on social media, “I stay trying to tell y’all.”
Digital producer Damita Menezes contributed to this report.
