Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty Monday in a Manhattan courtroom to additional federal charges accusing the music mogul of expanding what prosecutors call a long-running "criminal enterprise" that trafficked women and coerced employees. The new charges come just three weeks before his scheduled trial on a series of racketeering and sex-related crimes.
Combs, 55, appeared before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to respond to a third superseding indictment filed April 3 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors added one count of sex trafficking and one count of transportation to engage in prostitution related to an alleged victim identified as "Victim-2." These charges build upon three previous counts, bringing the total to five.
"We are a freight train moving toward trial," Judge Subramanian said at the hearing, signaling reluctance to delay the case despite a request by Combs' legal team for a two-week pause due to discovery issues. The defense argued that the government failed to obtain a full 200,000-email set from a key witness, allowing her instead to provide only selected communications.
The government has accused Combs of orchestrating a multi-decade criminal network that involved sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, and physical abuse. In the updated indictment, prosecutors allege that between 2021 and 2024, Combs "recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized and solicited" Victim-2 for commercial sex acts "as a result of force, fraud, and coercion."
"These are not new allegations or new accusers," Combs' attorneys stated previously. "These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion."
Combs remains detained at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center after being denied bond on multiple occasions. Jury selection is scheduled to begin May 5, with opening statements anticipated on May 12. A pretrial conference is set for April 18.
The rapper's defense team, led by attorney Marc Agnifilo, has requested permission to question prospective jurors about their experiences with drug use, domestic violence, and exposure to explicit material, citing the sensitive nature of evidence expected at trial. Many may be "uncomfortable" speaking about these topics in open court, Agnifilo said in a letter, adding that jurors may be more candid through a written questionnaire.
Prosecutors have opposed that approach, calling instead for a narrowly tailored questionnaire focusing on relevant legal grounds for disqualification, not broader personal beliefs. They cautioned that overly intrusive questions could compromise the jury selection process.
The criminal trial follows more than a dozen civil lawsuits filed against Combs over the past 18 months, including a high-profile case by former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who was later identified as "Victim-1" in the federal case. Prosecutors have framed Combs' network of businesses and associates as a vehicle for exploitation, alleging that he enforced control over employees using "physical force, psychological harm, financial harm, and reputational harm, and/or threats of the same."
Combs has denied all allegations and maintains that the relationships in question were consensual and that he is being targeted based on his celebrity status.
