Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested Monday evening in Manhattan after being indicted by a grand jury, according to multiple reports.
The New York Times reported that the charges against the 54-year-old were not entirely clear, but the rapper, producer and entrepreneur has been embroiled in a federal investigation and sexual assault lawsuits.
Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided a mansion in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills in March, along with another one of his homes in Miami.
At the time, his defense attorney Aaron Dyer referred to the raids as “a gross use of military-level force,” saying the allegations against Combs were “meritless” and that the rapper would continue to fight to clear his name.
In a statement about his arrest, another of Combs’ attorneys, Marc Agnifilo, told KTLA that they were disappointed with “what we believe is the unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“He is an imperfect person but is not a criminal,” his lawyer’s statement added. “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.”
Criminal charges would be a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.
This is a developing story. Please check back for additional details.