Prosecutors have filed a superseding indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs that includes additional victims and new allegations in the sprawling criminal case against him, according to documents entered in New York federal court on Thursday (Jan. 30).
Though it includes no new charges, the amended indictment extends the amount of time Combs allegedly operated a racketeering conspiracy, claiming it began in 2004 versus 2008. It also includes three specific (albeit unnamed) alleged victims — called “Victim-1,” “Victim-2” and “Victim-3” in the indictment, two of which are new additions — and alleges Combs was involved in a kidnapping “during which [he] carried and displayed a firearm.”
New controlled substances (namely psilocin, a.k.a. magic mushrooms, and methamphetamine) have also been added to the list of narcotics Combs allegedly used to control his victims, many of whom were allegedly drugged to keep them “obedient and compliant” during so-called “freak offs” — sex parties where Combs also allegedly filmed participants without their knowledge and for which he allegedly trafficked sex workers across state lines.
Another new allegation pertains to Combs’ alleged bribery of a staff member at the hotel where he was seen assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a surveillance video from 2016. The superseding indictment includes an allegation that Combs and some of his associates “paid hotel security staff $100,000” for the surveillance footage of the assault.
An attorney for Combs did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Earlier this month, attorneys for Combs claimed that videos of the alleged “freak off” parties being used as evidence by prosecutors in the case showed only consensual sex and “fundamentally undermine[d]” the charges brought against him. They filed a motion to be granted full access to the tapes, arguing they amount to “exculpatory evidence” — a.k.a. evidence that must be provided to defense attorneys if it can help prove their client’s innocence.
Combs is currently imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ahead of his criminal trial, which is set to kick off on May 5. He is charged with running a multi-faceted criminal enterprise in order to satisfy his need for “sexual gratification.” Among other accusations, he is alleged to have held so-called “freak off” parties, during which he and others drugged victims and coerced them into having sex. He is also accused of acts of violence and intimidation in an effort to keep his alleged victims from speaking out. Combs faces a potential life prison sentence if convicted on all charges.
