Sean "Diddy" Combs Indictment: Authorities Seized Over 1,000 Bottles of Baby Oil During Home Raid
Content warning: this article details alleged violence as well as physical and sexual abuse.
Further details are emerging about the charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Mere hours after he was arrested in New York, a federal indictment was unsealed and obtained by NBC News Sept. 17, accusing Combs of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The documents alleged that the music mogul organized “Freak Offs,” or “elaborate sex performances” during which female victims were compelled through “force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers.” Per the indictment, among supplies seized by authorities from Diddy’s homes earlier this year were 1,000 bottles of baby oil.
Combs is also accused in the documents of arranging, directing, masturbating during and often “electronically recording” the Freak Offs, and of transporting commercial sex workers “across state lines and internationally.”
The alleged Freak Offs, per the indictment, occurred regularly and often lasted multiple days and involved multiple sex workers.
“During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” the indictment reads, adding the victims and Combs himself often received IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use. “Sometimes unbeknownst to the victims, Combs kept videos he filmed of victims engaging in sex acts with commercial sex workers.”
The rapper’s associates—referred to in the indictment as the “Combs Enterprise,” including supervisors, security and household staff, assistants and other employees—are accused of facilitating Freak Offs by booking hotel rooms and stocking them with necessary supplies, cleaning the rooms, arranging travel, giving Combs cash to pay the sex workers and scheduling the IV fluids.
“In or about March 2024,” the indictment notes, “during searches of Combs' residences in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California, law enforcement seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.”
The indictment also details how the 54-year-old allegedly coerced his female victims into engaging in the Freak Offs, including “physical, emotional, and verbal abuse.”
As the indictment reads, “Combs maintained control over his victims through, among other things, physical violence, promises of career opportunities, granting and threatening to withhold financial support, and by other coercive means, including tracking their whereabouts, dictating the victims' appearance, monitoring their medical records, controlling their housing, and supplying them with controlled substances.”
The indictment claims victims also often suffered injuries from Combs during these Freak Offs that “took days or weeks to heal.”
According to the documents, there were a number of individuals who witnessed these alleged abuses, however “Combs and members and associates of the Enterprise engaged in acts of violence, threats of violence, threats of financial and reputational harm, and verbal abuse” against these individuals when Combs’ authority or reputation were threatened.
The alleged acts of violence reportedly involved “kidnapping and arson.”
Combs, who has not yet addressed the latest details in the case against him, arrived in New York Sept. 17 to face charges.
His attorney Marc Agnifilo told reports outside court, via NBC News, “"He came to New York to basically engage the court system and start the case, and it will start today and he’s going to plead not guilty. He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers."
After Combs was taken into custody Sept. 16, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams shared with NBC News that federal agents arrested him based on a then-sealed indictment.
As Diddy's legal team stated at the time, he "voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges."
"Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts," attorney Agnifilo said Sept. 16. "These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
For more on the case against Combs, keep reading.
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed search warrants at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami properties on March 25, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to NBC News.
The sources told the outlet the warrant was out of the Southern District of New York, and a spokesperson for HSI New York confirmed to E! News it “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.”
Law enforcement sources told NBC News the music mogul was in the Miami area when the search warrants were executed.
News about the investigation broke after Combs faced allegations of sexual misconduct in lawsuits filed by multiple accusers starting in November, with the musician denying the allegations.
“Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday,” he wrote in a December statement posted on Instagram. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
The day after HSI executed the search warrants at Combs' L.A. and Miami properties, his lawyer spoke out.
"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residences," attorney Aaron Dyer said in a March 26 statement to E! News. "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated."
Dyer noted Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”
“Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way,” his lawyer's statement continued. “This unprecedented ambush—paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence—leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
And Dyer expressed Combs' intent to defend himself.
“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” he added. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
As for what actually went down during the searches, multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the warrant told NBC News authorities with the Department of Homeland Security seized phones from Combs’ home in Miami before he was scheduled to travel to the Bahamas, and several sources familiar with the matter added that guns were discovered during the search.
One source familiar with the matter also told NBC News three women and one man were interviewed by prosecutors and investigators from the Southern District of New York about allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms purportedly tied to Combs.
On the same day the search warrants were executed at Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles properties, one of his associates, Brendan Paul, was arrested by the Miami-Dade police on suspicion of drug possession, a law enforcement source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
According to the Miami-Dade arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet, Paul was taken into custody for allegedly possessing suspected cocaine and suspected marijuana candy.
Prison records obtained by NBC News show Paul was released on March 26 after posting bond.
“We do not plan on trying this case in the media,” Paul’s attorney Brian Bieber said in a statement obtained by the outlet, “all issues will be dealt with in court.”
In May, Paul accepted a plea deal, with his lawyer Bieber telling People, "Brendan accepted the prosecutor’s offer to permit his entry into the diversion program which, after completion, the case against him will be dismissed in its entirety."
He was arrested in the lobby of a New York hotel on Sept. 16, 2024, according to NBC News. It's unclear what Combs has been charged with and if the arrest has any potential connection to the raids.
“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," his lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement to E! News. "He is an imperfect person but Is not 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."
After Combs was arrested based on the sealed indictment, the indictment was unsealed on Sept. 17.
The 54-year-old was charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; as well as transportation to engage in prostitution, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
The indictment alleged Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” for more than a decade, with prosecutors saying the purported behavior started around 2008.
"To do so," the documents stated, "Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled—creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice."
According to NBC News, Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters outside the New York courthouse that the Grammy winner would plead not guilty.
“He’s going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might,” the lawyer added, per the outlet, “and the full confidence of his lawyers."
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