Ten months after Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura accused him of rape and physical abuse, the rap mogul found himself standing before a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday facing sweeping charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Here’s how Combs, 54, ended up being held without bail on the indictment detailing nearly two decades of depravity:
Nov. 16, 2023 — Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie accuses him of abuse in lawsuit
Cassie — an R&B singer once signed to Combs’ record label Bay Boy Records — filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing Combs of raping and physically abusing her for over a decade.
The songstress, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, claimed that Combs trafficked, raped and viciously beat her starting in 2005 and until 2018, according to the Manhattan federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was filed with a glaring “trigger warning,” said that Combs regularly fed her drugs and alcohol, and forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters, dubbed “Freak Outs.”
Cassie also charged that Combs blew up Kid Cudi’s car when he learned the rapper was romantically interested in her, according to the filing.
The pair had an on-and-off again relationship which started shortly after meeting in 2005, when she was around 22 and he neared 40.
Nov. 17, 2023 — Combs reaches settlement with Ventura one day after suit is filed
Just one day after the federal lawsuit was filed, Combs and Cassie reached a settlement that “resolved the claims… to their mutual satisfaction.”
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“We have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best,” Combs said in a statement at the time.
Here’s what we know about the allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs
- Follow along with The Post’s live coverage of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest
- Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security in March amid a possible ongoing sex-trafficking investigation.
- Authorities targeted the rapper’s homes to seize phones and computers, sources told The Post.
- At least four Jane Does and one John Doe have been interviewed by New York prosecutors in connection to sex-trafficking allegations and a RICO case, sources told Rolling Stone.
- Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie (Cassandra Ventura) filed a lawsuit against him in November 2023 on several allegations, including rape and physical abuse for over a decade.
- Combs and Cassie settled the lawsuit one day after she filed it.
- In November 2023, the rapper was accused of drugging, filming and sexually assaulting a woman on a date in 1991.
- A third woman filed a lawsuit against the celebrity in November 2023, claiming that he and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns sexually assaulting her and a friend in the early 1990s.
- In December 2023, Combs was hit with a fourth sexual assault lawsuit that accused him and others of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his NYC recording studio after drugging her and supplying her with alcohol.
- In September 2024, Diddy was sued by Dawn Richard, a participant on Combs’ 2004 MTV show “Making The Band,” claiming that he once broke into her dressing room and began groping her breasts and butt.
Nov. 23, 2023 — Combs faces new allegations that he drugged and raped a woman in 1991
Similar allegations, but a different person.
Combs was accused by another woman of drugging and sexually assaulting her while on a date in 1991 and filming the attack.
The complaint, filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal, a former Syracuse University student, alleges Combs sexually assaulted her while out to dinner at Wells Restaurant in Harlem. The filing claims that Combs gave her drugs that put her in a “physical state where she could not independently stand or walk.”
A spokesperson for Combs denied the claims and called the lawsuit a “money grab.”
Nov. 24, 2023 — A third woman accused Combs of raping her and a friend in the early 1990s
A third woman, identified in a fresh complaint as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit claiming that Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall both took turns raping her and friend in the early 1990s.
The plaintiff said that she and her pal met Combs and Hall at an event hosted by MCA Records in New York City in 1990 or 1991.
Combs and Hall later invited the women to Hall’s apartment for an afterparty, where she was allegedly “coerced” into having sex with Combs, according to the lawsuit which was filed right before the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act.
“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,” a spokesperson for Combs said then.
Dec. 6, 2023 — Combs accused of drugging, gang-raping 17-year-old: lawsuit
Combs was hit with a fourth sexual assault lawsuit that accused him and others of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl at his Manhattan recording studio after flying her to the city and drugging her two decades ago.
The woman — who filed the suit anonymously in Manhattan federal court as Jane Doe — claims was was in the 11th grade when she was raped by Combs and Harve Pierre, the longtime president of his record label Bad Boys, and a third person in 2003.
Combs responded in a statement through his rep adamantly denying the claims, saying: “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
Dec. 14, 2023 — Hulu cuts Combs’ reality show ‘Diddy+7’ amid sexual assault allegations
Combs was supposed to have a TV show, dubbed “Diddy+7,” with Hulu but the streaming giant decided the scrap the show due to his ongoing legal troubles, according to Variety.
The show was being produced by James Corden’s production company, Fulwelll 73.
Feb. 26, 2024 — Combs accused of sexual harassment, assault by male producer: $30M lawsuit
Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones claimed in a $30 million lawsuit that Combs repeatedly sexually assaulted him while he was working on his latest album from Sept. 2022 to Nov. 2023.
The producer, who also worked as a videographer for Combs, charged that Combs would grope his genitals and touch his anus to groom him into having sex — and that Combs would downplay the assaults as “horseplay.”
Combs’ ex-girlfriend Yung Miami, also known as Caresha Rameka Brownlee, was later accused of transporting the drug known as “pink cocaine” for Combs in April 2023, according to an amended complaint earlier this year. Combs also allegedly paid Instagram influencer Jade Ramey a “monthly stipend” for sex work, the suit claimed.
March 25, 2024 — Combs’ Los Angeles, Miami homes raided by Homeland Security
Federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Agents were seen arriving to the rap mogul’s properties in the Holmby Hills area of LA with guns drawn and leaving with boxes and bags of evidence, including electronics.
Law enforcement sources told The Post at the time that they moved in because they wanted to seize Combs’ phone and computers.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they found guns, including three AR-15s with “defaced” serial numbers, ammunition and hundreds of bottles of baby oil and lube during the raids.
Combs’ attorney at the time blasted the feds’ raid, calling it a “witch hunt.”
May 17, 2024 — Video shows Combs beating then-girlfriend Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Surveillance video obtained by CNN was published showing Combs shoving, kicking and dragging this then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hallway of the InterContiental Hotel in Los Angeles on March 5, 2016.
Combs can be seen running after Ventura with a bath towel draped around his waist before he grabs her by the back of the neck and throws her to the floor.
As he holds the towel with one hand, he kicks her, the video shows — before grabbing a purse and suitcase, kicking her again and dragging her on the hallway’s carpet.
Combs allegedly paid the hotel $50,000 for the security footage.
Two days after the clip was made public, Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he took “full responsibility” for his “inexcusable” behavior and describing the footage as “disgusting.”
May 21, 2024 — Ex-model, TV star claims Combs drugged, sexually assaulted her in 2003
Crystal McKinney, who first rose to prominence after winning MTV’s inaugural “Model Mission” beauty pageant show in 1998, claims she kept her unwashed clothing from the night that Combs allegedly assaulted her wrapped in a plastic bag for more than two decades.
McKinney, who was 22 at the time, said Combs told her he could help “advance her modeling career” when she met him at a Men’s Fashion Week event in 2003. Combs allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him at his studio on West 44th Street in Midtown, according to the lawsuit.
May 23, 2024 — Woman claims Combs raped her when she was a student at FIT in the 1990s
April Lampros, a former student at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology in the 1990s, filed a lawsuit against Combs who she says sexually assaulted her on four instances from the mid-1990s to the early-2000s.
It marked the eighth lawsuit against Combs since November, the seventh accusing him of sexual assault.
- Follow along with The Post’s live coverage of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs slapped with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy as bombshell charges unsealed in NYC court
- Diddy forced victims into ‘freak off’ sex sessions; thousands of bottles of lube and 3 AR-15s found in March raid
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested at NYC hotel by Homeland Security in sex-trafficking probe
- Sean ‘Diddy ‘ Combs used guns, kidnapping and arson to intimidate victims: feds
June 15, 2024 — Combs’ key to New York City revoked by Mayor Eric Adams
Mayor Eric Adams revoked Combs’ key to the city just three weeks after the shocking video of Combs beating Ventura circulated.
Combs was given the key in November 2023 to celebrate the release of his first studio album in 17 years.
Howard University also revoked Combs’ honorary degree and returned a $1 million donation around the time.
July 3, 2024 — Former porn star claims Combs forced to her have sex at his famed Hamptons parties
The ex-adult film star, Adria English, filed a lawsuit accusing the rapper of “grooming” her into a sex-trafficking victim while she worked as a “go-go dancer” at his annual white party nearly two decades ago.
Sept. 16, 2024 — Combs arrested at NYC hotel amid federal sex-trafficking investigation
Combs was arrested Monday night at the Park Hyatt New York by Homeland Security Investigations, which typically handles sex-trafficking probes.
Sept. 17, 2024 — Combs hit with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy in bombshell indictment
Combs pleaded not guilty to a sweeping indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and transportation for the purposes of prostitution.