Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has faced a stream of allegations by women accusing him of sexual assault, was arrested late Monday in New York after he was indicted by a federal grand jury.
The indictment was sealed and details of the charges weren’t immediately announced by prosecutors, but the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Damian Williams, confirmed in a statement that federal agents had Combs in custody.
“We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” Williams said in a statement.
Combs was arrested in a Manhattan hotel lobby, according to a person familiar with the arrest who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Combs had been cooperating with the investigation and had relocated to New York last week in anticipation of charges being brought.
“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,” Agnifilo said, describing his client as a music icon and a “loving family man.”
“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said in a statement, adding “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.”
The criminal charges are a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.
The federal investigation of Combs, 58, was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.
A day after the raids, his attorney Aaron Dyer called them “a gross use of military-level force,” said the allegations were “meritless.”
Combs’ roles in his businesses beyond music — including lucrative private-label spirits, a media company and the Sean John Fashion line — took major hits when the allegations arose.
The consequences were even greater when the leaked beating video emerged. Howard University cut ties with him, and he returned his key to the city of New York at the request of the mayor.
Combs has faced various arrests before, and decades ago he was at the center of one of the biggest hip-hop industry trials of its era.
That trial stemmed from a Manhattan nightclub shooting that injured three people in 1999. His then-girlfriend, singer and actor Jennifer Lopez, was also there when the shots rang out.
Combs ultimately was acquitted of charges that he took an illegal gun into the club and tried to bribe his driver to take the fall for the weapon. His then-protégé, Shyne, was convicted of assault and other charges in the shooting and served about eight years in prison. Now going by Moses Barrow, he’s a member of the House of Representatives in his native Belize.
Also in 1999, Combs was arrested on a charge of beating up a record executive in New York. Combs pleaded guilty to harassment, which is a violation, and was sentenced to an anger management class.
AP