Federal agents on Monday searched homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area that are linked to hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the searches but did not provide details about the case, including whether Mr. Combs was a target or what criminal charges were being investigated. Mr. Combs, also known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, has been accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking in several civil lawsuits in recent months.
A spokesman for Mr. Combs did not respond to a request for comment.
The criminal investigation was being led by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and federal Homeland Security agents, a law enforcement official said. Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the Southern District, declined to comment.
In a statement, Homeland Security said New York agents “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with the assistance of HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our partners law enforcement premises.”
Video from Fox 11 (KTTV), a local Los Angeles television station, showed armed officers entering a home in the city’s Holmby Hills neighborhood that a law enforcement official said was linked to Mr. Combs. California public records also indicate that the house is owned by a company run by Mr. Combs.
The raids were a stunning development in the career of Mr. Combs, 54, a producer, label executive and occasional rapper who has been one of the music industry’s most influential and recognized figures for 30 years. last years.
He played an integral role in transforming hip-hop into a global commercial force, creating hits and larger-than-life personas for rap and R&B artists like Notorious BIG and Mary J. Blige. He also scored breakout hits of his own with songs like “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997), a ballad by the Notorious B.I.G. after his murder in a drive-by shooting, which featured Faith Evans, the widow of the rapper, and a sample from the police. tap “Every Breath You Take.”
But Mr. Combs has also been dogged for decades by accusations of violence. In November, he was sued for sexual assault by Casandra Ventura, his former girlfriend, who had also been signed to his Bad Boy label as recording artist Cassie.
In her suit, Ms. Ventura accused Mr. Combs of forcing her to have sex with prostitutes for several years. The suit said that as a result of these encounters, which took place in several cities across the United States, Ms. Ventura became a victim of sex trafficking.
Ms Ventura’s civil suit was settled in just one day, with she and Mr Combs saying their dispute had been resolved “amicably”.
The case, filed as part of a detailed 35-page complaint, made headlines around the world and jeopardized the trademark he had gradually built over decades. In the months before Ms. Ventura’s trial, Mr. Combs received industry awards and released his first studio album in 17 years.
Even after it was settled, Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit was followed by several other cases, each accusing Mr. Combs of sexual assault. In a case filed last month, a music producer, Rodney Jones, said Mr. Combs had unwanted sexual contact with him and forced him to hire prostitutes and participate in sex acts with them. In recent months, many of Mr. Combs’ business partners have distanced themselves from him.
Federal investigators in New York are leading the probe and have been conducting interviews questioning potential witnesses about the sexual misconduct allegations against Mr. Combs for several months, according to a person familiar with the interviews.
Mr. Combs has denied the accusations against him. In December, after an anonymous woman filed a complaint accusing Mr. Combs and two other men of raping her in a New York recording studio in 2003, when she was 17, the music mogul said: “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals. looking for a quick paycheck. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the horrible things alleged.
After Mr. Jones’ trial last month, Shawn Holley, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, said Mr. Jones was “nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly seeking undeserved pay,” and called his accusations “pure fiction.” .” Ms. Holley and two other lawyers for Mr. Combs also did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
In a statement Monday, Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer who represents Ms. Ventura and the unnamed woman who sued Mr. Combs alleging assault at a New York studio, said: “We will always support law enforcement when they seek to prosecute those who have violated the law. Hopefully this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs accountable for his depraved conduct.
The house raided in Miami Beach was on Star Island, an exclusive enclave of mansions on Biscayne Bay popular with celebrities and the wealthy. On Monday, its usual tranquility was interrupted by a Homeland Security Investigations van with flashing red and blue lights, law enforcement officers in blue windbreakers and at least two agents with dogs, as well as journalists dotting its lawns lined with palm trees.
A similar scene unfolded near Mr. Combs’s home in Los Angeles, where late in the afternoon a few dozen people, including many journalists, crowded into the bustling Holmby Hills neighborhood, unable to cross the yellow warning tape hung on South Mapleton Drive.
A few Los Angeles police officers blocked the road leading to Mr. Combs’ property. Passersby showed interest, with drivers of luxury sport utility vehicles slowing down to take photos of the melee.
The neighborhood, located just a mile east of the University of California, Los Angeles, is used to attracting attention. Boasting a long list of famous residents, this is where Hugh Hefner once threw lavish parties at the Playboy Mansion and where Michael Jackson lived in a castle just before his death. Most estates are surrounded by gates and stone walls covered in greenery or vines, pillars of privacy in a community known for its exclusivity.
Hamed Aléaziz contributed reporting from Washington, D.C., Chelsia Rose Marcius from New York, Corina Knoll from Los Angeles and Veronica Zaragovia from Miami.
