The Arrest of Sean "Diddy" Combs | The Diddy Saga Part 7

[0:00] Music.

[0:11] My name is Damian Williams, and I'm the U.S. Attorney here in the Southern District of New York. Today I'm announcing the unsealing of a three-count indictment charging Sean Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution.

[0:29] Music.

[0:39] The indictment alleges that between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened, and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct. I used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice.

[1:11] Music.

[1:18] Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called freak-offs.

[1:25] Music.

[1:33] The freak-offs sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, which Combs distributed to the victim to keep them obedient and compliant.

[1:50] Music.

[1:56] Welcome back to Exposed Scandalous Files of the Elite. I'm your host, Jim Chapman. And before we get into today's exciting episode of Exposed, real quick, I want to mention we have had more success than I first saw. I knew this show was going to be great and that people were going to enjoy it, but we have had more success more quickly than I ever could have imagined. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to move to two drops per week. So we're also going to move the days that we drop. We were dropping every Monday. We're now going to be dropping every Tuesday and Thursday. We can cover more of these cases that you seem to be enjoying now on Tuesdays for the, I guess, foreseeable future. We're going to be covering the very popular Murdaugh series. We're on the third episode of that series now.

[3:03] It is absolutely on fire, and it's going to take quite a while to cover that series. So every Tuesday will be a new drop of Murdaugh, and every Thursday will be a new case of exposed scandalous files of the elite.

[3:20] With that being said, we're going to get into what has happened with Sean Diddycombs. And look the last six days y'all have been insane for this guy and deservably so i knew this was coming we've talked about this for six episodes and the coup de grace and this whole thing is just last night and y'all i'm recording this episode on the morning of the 17th so that would be the 16th of september sean diddy combs was arrested arrested, criminally, after a true bill indictment was issued. And we're going to go all into that indictment. I have the sealed indictment, which was unsealed this morning. But first, we're going to talk about the last six days and what led Diddy to this, because a lot has happened.

[4:18] I actually had an episode scheduled to drop on Thursday of this week anyway, because of two specific situations that occurred in the last six days, and this was pretty much the icing on the cake, and it told me that I was going in the right direction.

[4:36] Seven days ago, and six days from his arrest, so this will be on the 10th of September, a ruling was made in a lawsuit case against Sean Combs that was brought by a guy by the the name of Derek Cardello Smith.

[4:57] And this was a hard lawsuit to find. I dug for hours and could not find the actual paperwork for that lawsuit. I reached out to a bunch of contacts I had, could not find it, but I did get the details of it. And I'm going to cover that with you. And then I'm going to cover the aftermath of that. And then we'll go into the second lawsuit of that day that was filed September 10th. And then finally the arrest of Diddy.

[5:30] I'm going to reference an article from Rolling Stone. Sean Diddy Combs has been ordered to pay $100 million in a default judgment over sexual assault allegations by Michigan inmate Derek Lee Cardello-Smith.

[5:46] The rapper, who is 54, has been embroiled in mounting legal woes. Cardello-Smith, who is currently serving time at the Ernest C. Brooks Correctional Facility, claimed Diddy drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party that took place 27 years earlier in 1997. 1997 derrick sued combs for 100 million but due to the star not responding to the lawsuit and failing to attend a virtual hearing on monday a judge entered a default judgment against combs that required him to pay that 100 million dollars beginning next month on october 1st the disgraced music artists will have to pay Cardello Smith in $10 million installments monthly. And incidentally, I do have that hearing video and I will be uploading that to the Patreon page for the global celebrities and the national celebrity members. So look for that if you're a patron member. So Derek first cross paths with the rapper when he was working at a restaurant in Detroit. In a lawsuit, Cardello-Smith claimed that he and Combs were drinking and smoking marijuana at a 1997 party when the sexual assault took place.

[7:11] At one point, while performing a sexual act with one of the women at the party, Derek claimed that the rapper placed a hand on his buttocks. He also claimed that afterward, he accepted a drink from Combs that had been drugged and Derek proceeded to pass out. Upon waking up, he noticed Diddy having sex with one of the women at the party and claimed Combs told him, I did this to you too. Wow. The $100 million default judgment comes just one month after Cardell A. Smith filed a temporary restraining order against Diddy in August.

[7:47] Derek was able to show records that the rapper had visited him at prison, and he alleges that Combs offered $2.3 million in order for Derek to drop the sexual assault allegations against him. During a hearing that took place last month in August, Cardell A. Smith claimed Diddy had told him, you know how we get down. And when Derrick refused to drop the lawsuit, Derrick claimed that in response to Combs, he told the rapper, I disagree with how you get down. The $100 million default judgment has a possibility of being the largest award to a non-attorney and individual currently serving time. So let's talk about that for a second. Essentially, in a nutshell, Diddy was ordered to appear in court to answer against these charges in this civil lawsuit that this Cardello Smith guy had filed against him and he didn't show up in the virtual meeting and when you do that or when you don't show up on those virtual or in-person court hearings it's basically an admission of guilt in the eyes of the court, and so that is how he got that's known as a default judgment and that's how uh.

[9:04] Cardella Smith got that judgment. I would certainly say that that's probably the largest prisoner judgment I've ever heard of, probably the largest in history. And it's interesting that Cardella Smith was representing himself. Look, you get a prison y'all. It's nothing to do all day long, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can study the law books and some, Some inmates and convicts, they know the law better than the best lawyers in the world. I'm telling you. And this guy, he found a way, right? But it's important to mention that this is not a good guy at all. He's a piece of shit, actually.

[9:45] And I'll get into that with this next article, and that's when Diddy's lawyer responded to that inmate's $100 million judgment. And the article reads, Sean Diddy Combs' legal team is responding to a $100 million default judgment awarded to Michigan inmate Derek Lee Cardelli-Smith. In a statement, Diddy's lawyer, Mark Agnafello, strongly denied the claims, saying this man is a convicted felon and a sexual predator who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years. His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison as Mr. Combs has never heard of him, let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.

[10:34] Cardello Smith filed that lawsuit in In June, as I told y'all, and Diddy's legal team asserts, he was never notified of the lawsuit and plans to take action to overturn the judgment. And when I read that, y'all, what I'm trying to figure out here, usually when you have those type of notices, you would have to sign something. It would be like registered mail. But I highly doubt that they have Diddy's signature. Now, his secretary or somebody may have signed for that document and just never given it to Diddy, and I'm not 100% sure what the law is in New York on that. Sometimes if someone has authority to sign for you, the court will look at it as if it were you. In this case, I'm not sure what the law is in New York.

[11:27] So, Cardell Smith is serving 75 years at Ernest C. Brooks Correctional Facility for several counts of sexual conduct, criminal, and kidnapping. He claims he met Diddy at a Detroit Holiday Inn afterparty in 1997, and I told y'all what his claims were with regard to that lawsuit, so I won't get into that. While in prison, Cardell Smith taught himself criminal and civil law, developed a long history of challenging the judicial system. So he's got a ton of lawsuits that he's filed. And look, these convicts, they all do it. If you look up just a random convict's name that's been in prison for more than five years, you'll see they're filing lawsuits everywhere. That's all all they got to do, y'all. Cardello Smith also targeted other high-profile defendants, including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. In that lawsuit, he alleged that two priests and an employee of the organization sexually abused him in 1979 when he was about seven years old and in 1993.

[12:35] Now, in the case against Diddy, Cardello Smith claimed to have evidence in the form of an agreement of silence and confidentiality that he alleges was signed by Diddy and other Michigan officials. However, the authenticity of this document is questionable and has not been verified. During a court hearing, Cardillo-Smith testified that Diddy visited him in prison and offered him $2.3 million to drop the lawsuit. And of course, Diddy's team, they deny eye of that. They say no such meeting took place and they are requesting that that lawsuit be completely dismissed. So that happened on the 10th of this month, just seven days from this recording. And of course they're appealing that judgment. So this, this guy's not getting $10 million this month. I can promise you that Cardello Smith, this is going to be a long appeal process. And look, this guy's an asshole in his own right, a rapist and a kidnapper. So I don't feel sorry for him, but it is what it is. He'll probably never see a dime of any of that money unless he's got a lot of proof. But we'll see. So what else happened on the 10th?

[13:58] I told you there were two things, and a big one came down on the 10th in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York. So, a lady by the name of Dawn Richard brought a lawsuit against Diddy this same day. Dawn Richard is a musician, she's a singer, a songwriter, and a performer. She gained widespread recognition as a member of Season 3 of MTV's Making the Band, which is a show that Diddy actually owned on MTV. And let me tell you about the allegations. In 2004, Ms. Richard was selected to participate in Season 3 of MTV Network's reality show, Making the Band. The show centered around the formation and development of a new musical group under the mentorship of Sean Diddy Combs. The contestants would compete and be chosen by Mr. Combs to form a band, and that band would go on to create albums and perform, and of course that would be under Diddy's label. Now, for aspiring artists like Dorm Richard, making the band represented a concrete path to a career in the entertainment industry. And she appeared on both season three and season four of Making the Band.

[15:23] Now, out of thousands of contestants, Miss Richard, along with approximately 12 other women, they were selected to participate. They made it to the, you know, the finals, right? They were going to be on the actual show. And five women, including Miss Richard, they were ultimately chosen to be in the group Danity Kane, which was named by Miss Richard. Now, prior to and including the first album, Making the Band was filmed entirely at what was known as Daddy's House Recording Studio in New York. The Making the Band content focused on Danny DeCain's work with its second album, known as Welcome to the Doghouse. And all that was filmed at Daddy's House, which was Diddy's Recording Studio and Mr. Combs' Miami residence. And Danny came went on to be extremely popular for million copies of his first album sold its second album sold two million copies and among other things, Miss Richard is claiming she wasn't paid for a lot of the work that she did. As a matter of fact, she said she did a hundred dates on a tour.

[16:35] And Diddy still owes her $1.8 million for that. She is owed $500,000 in royalties and over a million dollars still to be paid for her first album. This is according to Miss Richard. So let's get into the meat of it. During the auditions on the set of Making the Bands, Mr. Combs projected what she says is an aura of superiority, wealth, and power. Mr. Combs regularly wore sunglasses and avoid looking the female contestants in the eyes. During auditions, Mr. Combs spoke to the female contestants in a hostile, condescending manner, making disparaging gender-based remarks such as calling them fat, ugly, bitches, and hoes. Ms. Richards, she said she felt threatened and intimidated by his blatant disdain for the young women, like herself, who were excited for the opportunity to be on his show. Once the ban was made, Mr. Combs' contempt for women was apparent and he continued to display aggressive and hostile behavior toward Miss Richard and her all-female Danity Kane bandmates. Mr. Combs referred to the five women as bitches and hoes and pretty much dogged out their physical appearances. By way of example, Mr. Combs stated that Miss Richard was too skinny and needed to do something about her face.

[18:01] On one occasion in 2005, during the first season of Making the Band 3, Miss Richard observed Mr. Combs' ex-partner and the mother of three of his children, Kim Porter, leaving Mr. Combs' recording studio in tears with visible facial injuries, including a lacerated lip. Realizing Mr. Combs was capable of committing acts of violence against women caused Ms. Richard to feel a deep apprehension and fear that Mr. Combs could one day physically harm her. Ms. Richard was present when Mr. Combs was introduced to Cassandra, Cassie Venturi, y'all, the one that got the shit beat out of her that I told you about in the first part of this series in or around 2006.

[18:47] The moment Mr. Combs saw Ms. Ventura, his demeanor noticeably shifted. Mr. Combs positioned himself directly in front of Ms. Ventura's seat, invading her personal space and fixated on her with an intense stare, isolating her from other people in the room, including Ms. Ventura's then-boyfriend, music producer Ryan Leslie. Coincidentally, this first meeting between Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura was the first time that Ms. Richard was in Mr. Combs' present without a camera crew filming. Observing Mr. Combs behave in such an intimidating manner, the first time they were off camera made her feel apprehensive and afraid of him. And then she gets into the sexual harassment, the inhumane treatment, and the denial of basic needs by Mr. Combs. And she says throughout the productions of making the band three and four mr combs deprived miss richard and her bandmates of basic needs such as adequate food and sleep when miss richard or her danny decaying teammates requested meals or rest mr combs refused and chastised them with derogatory comments like you bitches don't want this or y'all are not hungry enough and i'm paying you bitches to work.

[20:06] The demeaning behavior gradually undermined Ms. Richard's confidence and contributed significantly to her growing feelings of insecurity and fear of reprisal from Mr.

[20:35] Combs. outbreaks. Forced to choose between eating and sleeping, Ms. Richard lost a significant amount of weight, weighing approximately 100 pounds at a height of 5 foot 4 inches. Ms. Richard began to normalize these extreme conditions and perceived them as standard requirements of her participation in Danity King. Mr. Combs often sent his associates to wake Ms. Richard and her bandmates up in the the overnight hours so he could watch them rehearse. The disturbances led to Ms. Richard adapting by sleeping in a sitting position, fully dressed and with makeup on, heightening her anxiety. Over time, this abnormal sleeping arrangement came to feel like routine. In addition to exhausting rehearsals, Mr. Combs required Ms. Richard and her bandmates to participate in intense workouts with a personal trainer. On one occasion, while running on the the beach, Ms. Richard became so dehydrated that she vomited. Instead of offering medical assistance, an MTV camera crew filmed the incident, contributing to her acceptance of such treatment as part of her professional life. And then it gets even stranger, y'all. In a further assertion of power and dominance, Mr. Combs insisted on holding meetings while dressed only in his underwear. On one occasion in 2008 at his Miami residence, Mr. Combs emailed Ms. Miss Richard directing her to meet him in the living room.

[22:02] When she arrived, he was only wearing his underwear. Ms. Richard asked Mr. Combs to put some clothes on, but he refused, stating, this is my fucking house. Mr. Combs then conducted the meeting, lasting approximately an hour while only dressed in his underwear, causing Ms. Richard to feel violated and embarrassed and amplifying her feelings of powerlessness. And y'all, what's he doing there? He's grooming her. He's seeing what he can get away with. It's all about freak offs with me, right? seeing what she will accept. Now, following the official Danny D. Cain breakup in early 2009, Ms. Richard experienced significant financial hardship. With no prospective opportunities for employment within the entertainment field, Ms. Richard spent several months traveling from Baltimore to Daddy's House Recording Studio, Diddy's Recording Studio, without pay or budget. it. And Mr. Combs, he would promise her that she would eventually get payment, et cetera, but he still has not paid her for that stuff. By approximately the fall of 2009, many of Ms. Richards' compositions had been recorded by other artists. Due to the success of her compositions, Ms. Richards was invited to meet with musical artists known as Ms. Harper. And shortly after, After Mr. Combs, Ms. Richard and Ms. Harper formed a new group called Diddy Dirty Money.

[23:28] Initial recording for Diddy's Dirty Money album took place in Mr. Combs' home in Los Angeles, California. On the first day of recording, Ms. Richard and Ms. Harper arrived at Mr. Combs' home and waited in the kitchen where Mr. Combs' girlfriend, Ms. Ventura, was frying eggs for them. Ms. Richard observed Mr. Combs come down the stairs looking high on drugs. He entered the kitchen and he approached Ms. Ventura and screamed, I've been asking you for my shit. I can't stand you, bitch. You never do it right. Mr. Combs then pushed Ms. Ventura against the wall, choked her, picked up a scalding hot pan of eggs, threw it at her, causing her to fall to the ground in a fetal position, cursing and screaming. Mr. Combs dragged Ms. Ventura up the stairs. This is right in front. fraud.

[24:20] Of Miss Richard, right? Frozen in shock and terror, Miss Richard heard glass shattering, crashing, banging noises as Mr. Combs dragged Miss Ventura up the stairs. Miss Richard wanted to intervene and help Miss Ventura, but Miss Harper adamantly refused to interfere with Mr. Combs' relationship and physically led Miss Richard out of the residence. Terrified and shaken, Miss Richard returned to her hotel where she was unable to sleep, worrying about Miss Ventura and her own safety. The following day, Ms. Richard received a call demanding that she return to Mr. Combs' residence to continue recording. Mr. Combs brought Ms. Richard and Ms. Harper into the recording room and his studio, locked the door, dimmed the lights, and gave each of them flowers. What a fucking gentleman. Mr. Combs went on and lay saying, this is normal. This is just a lover's argument where no one was hurt. This is what love is, he said and i'm giving you the opportunity if you want to make it you'll shut your mouth if you say anything there will be consequences mr combs further warned that people end up missing.

[25:33] Being threatened while locked for over 20 minutes in a small enclosed space mr combs after observing mr combs assaulting miss ventura the day before obviously miss richard was terrified and believed Mr. Combs would follow through on those threats. Wow. Here it is. Here's the real ditty, right?

[25:54] Then in or around November of 2009, after the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Combs flew Miss Richard and Miss Harper to his house in New York on a private jet for an after party. There were many well-known celebrities at that after party and tons of illegal drugs were being openly consumed. Upon information and belief, Mr. Combs had arranged for dozens of young women and girls, some of whom appeared to be underage, to be transported to the party. The women arrived wearing little to no clothing and were given drugs and alcohol. Many of them appeared lethargic or passed out while Mr. Combs and his guests performed sex acts on them. Ms. Richard believes that her presence at the party was a test to see if Mr. Combs could trust her. I would say that's 150% accurate. Mr. Combs repeatedly said things like, this is a buffet. Enjoy yourselves. This is what we do. This is how we party.

[27:00] Ms. Richard felt shocked and horrified at the sight of Mr. Combs and his guests violating incapacitated young women and implored Mr. Combs' personal assistant, Capricorn Clark, to allow her to leave. Ms. Clark insisted that Ms. Richard wait 15 minutes for Ms. Clark to make it make sense. That is, to make Ms. Richard's exit less conspicuous so that Mr. Combs wouldn't notice that she had left. Knowing that she was not free to leave and had to wait for Ms. Clark to help her orchestrate her departure, Ms. Richard experienced feelings of panic and being trapped against her will. Mr. Combs regularly placed Ms. Richard in similar situations with no means of escape. At Mr. Combs' drug-fueled parties, his guests, including Ms. Richard, were required to surrender their phones upon entry. Mr. Combs kept the doors locked and guarded by security, making it impossible for Ms. Richards to leave without alerting Mr. Combs she had done so. Mr. Combs hired police officers to attend his parties and he did that, y'all, to send a clear message to guests that his influence extended to the police department, right? Don't even bother trying to call the law on me because they were here too.

[28:15] On many occasions, Mr. Combs had parties at his Miami, Florida residence that lasted several days. At one of the parties, Ms. Richard witnessed Mr. Combs openly stating that he had arranged for busloads of young exotic women, such as mixed black and Asian, Indonesian, and albino women. Once again, Ms. Richard observed inebriated young girls being sexually violated by Mr. Combs and his guests. In a state of panic and terror, Ms. Richard fled to the bedroom Mr. Combs had insisted she stay in and barricaded her door shut with furniture. Mr. Combs openly assaulted Ms. Ventura in front of Ms. Richard and other witnesses on multiple occasions. On one occasion, in or around the fall of 2009, Diddy slash Dirty Money was in New York preparing to perform at a festival. Inside their vehicle, Mr. Combs grabbed Ms. Ventura's neck, pulled her out of the van onto the grass, and pinned her down. This poor woman, man. Cassie just went through it. Shit. Shit.

[29:22] So he pulls her out, pins her head down and chokes her while yelling, you're going to get fucked up today. This incident took place in the backstage area just outside the festival and was entirely visible to passersby. In another incident in or around early 2010, Mr. Combs punched Miss Ventura in the face in the bathroom of a party in L.A. Frequently, when Ms. Ventura attempted to voice an opinion or stand up to Mr. Combs, he would strike her or wrap his hands around her throat and choke her. On the first of several occasions that they observed Mr. Combs assault Ms. Ventura, Ms. Richard and Ms. Harper spoke with Ms. Ventura to support and encourage Ms. Ventura in escaping her abusive relationship with Mr. Combs. Every time that Ms. Richard and Ms. Harper tried to intervene, Mr. Combs learned of the conversation and became irate. He began screaming at the women, y'all bitches don't get in my relationship. Don't tell my bitch, referring to Ms. Ventura, what she needs to be doing. Just make money and shut the fuck up. I end artists. I shelve careers. You could be missing. And you bitches want to die today? Among other threats. What a fucking dick.

[30:47] I'm sorry, but the more I go into this, the more pissed off. You know, people like this, people that put their hands on women like Diddy's doing in all these situations, let me tell you something. They ain't shit.

[31:03] Sean Combs, you ain't shit. Period. And then it goes, y'all, this lawsuit into a lot of occasions where he didn't pay Miss Richard. I won't go into all that, but I will go into some situations where he actually sexually harassed and insulted her. And it reads, between approximately 2009 and 2011, Mr. Combs repeatedly ordered Ms. Richard to strip down to her underwear. He frequently referred to her as a bitch or a whore and made demeaning remarks on her body, including calling her lazy, fat, ugly, skinny.

[31:46] And he would do this particularly in front of his friends, producers, and bodyguards. He would hold meetings with her even more frequently in his underwear than the first time I described to you earlier in this podcast. And often when they were recording in the studio, Mr. Combs would hold parties where he would invite young men and women who were scantily dressed and they would engage in drugs and sex acts, etc. Miss Richard observed Mr. Combs and his colleagues kissing and touching very young women. Upon information and belief, the participants often left the immediate area. They would go to another room and have sex and return thereafter. On numerous occasions between 2009 and 2011, under the guise of preparing for performances, Mr. Combs would intrude on Ms. Richards' changing room at the recording studio unannounced while Ms. Richards was undressed. He'd just walk right in on her because he's ditty and he can do whatever the fuck he wants, right? Even though a female stylist was present and assisting Miss Richard with her wardrobe, Mr. Combs would grope Miss Richard's body, including her bare buttocks and her chest area near her breasts, with no legitimate purpose and without Miss Richard's consent.

[33:04] Mr. Combs caressed her buttocks to show the stylist where he wanted her high-waist panties positioned and attempted to touch her breasts, claiming to show the stylist he wanted her bra straps to go here. And he would kind of trace that area.

[33:20] When Mr. Combs would enter changing rooms, Ms. Richard would cover up her chest with her hands to prevent Mr. Combs from seeing or touching her breasts. When Mr. Combs would touch her body, Ms. Richard would attempt to swat his hands away and state, don't touch me. Mr. Combs frequently smacked Ms. Richard's bare buttocks and often commented on her body, noting that although she was too skinny, she did have an ass. Ignoring her visible and communicated discomfort, Mr. Combs persisted and continued to intrude when Ms. Richard was in the dressing room, continuing to touch her butt and breast area under the guise of showing stylists what to do and continue to smack her butt without her consent. In or around October of 2010, they did a performance in Scotland where Mr. Combs engaged in overt sexual advances towards Ms. Richard. On numerous occasions, when Ms. Richard exited the dressing room fully styled, Mr. Combs looked at her approvingly, smacked her ass, and made comments such as, you're looking good.

[34:24] And then he would say, okay, Dawn, okay, I see what it is, in a flirtatious tone. Each time Ms. Richard moved away and asked him not to touch her, Mr. Combs would disregard her request. West. And on their last night in Glasgow, Ms. Richard witnessed Mr. Combs and several other males gangbanging Mr. Combs' female assistant at the hotel pool. Ms. Richard immediately left and went to her hotel room. On their flight back to the U.S. the next day, Ms. Richard asked Mr. Combs where his assistant was. And Mr. Combs replied, I don't give a fuck where that bitch is. Ms. Richard later learned that Mr. Combs had taken his assistant passport with him to the U.S., leaving her stranded in the U.K.

[35:15] In Glasgow, Ms. Harper confided in Ms. Richard that her husband and manager, a guy by the name of Tony Vick, was abusive. After an especially severe assault, she confided in Ms. Richard that she wanted to leave Mr. Vick, and Ms. Richard helped her plan her exit from the relationship. However, Ms. Harper and Mr. Vick reconciled, and both Mr. Combs and Mr. Vick, who had a close relationship, learned of Ms. Richards' role in helping Ms. Harper. And so, obviously, she told her husband this girl was helping her. If somebody's trying to help you, y'all, and they're being honest with helping you, don't ever say that to another party, even if you make up with them. Because you really put that other person in jeopardy. But I continue on. Both Mr. Combs and Mr. Vick became noticeably distrustful of Ms. Richard, who exasperated her fears of harm and reprisal. In 2010, Ms. Richard, Ms. Harper, and Ms. Ventura were in Mr. Combs' home in L.A. when Mr. Combs stated, I want to gift you fake titties for Christmas. Mr. Combs then reached out and cupped Ms. Richard's breasts without her permission and stated, you're an A-cup and I'm thinking a D-cup. Ms. Richard recoiled in shock and left the room.

[36:36] In or around 2010, Dirty Money was preparing for an upcoming performance on Saturday Night Live. As usual, rehearsals lasted for days without the opportunity to eat or rest, and the schedule was very unpredictable. After waiting all day for Mr. Combs to call or send her a car, Ms. Richard received a phone call from Mr. Combs demanding, where the fuck are you bitches? You bitches don't want this. You don't deserve to have someone pick you up. Get a cab. Ms. Richard and Ms. Harper immediately took a taxi to the studio where SNL was filmed, anxious because Mr. Combs sounded enraged.

[37:15] Upon their arrival, Mr. Combs and Harvey Pierre were waiting for them in the lobby, and Mr. Combs screamed obscenities at them. Where the fuck.

[37:29] Miss Richard noticed the people in the lobby were reacting to Mr. Combs' tirade. Embarrassed, she asked Mr. Combs to stop swearing and calling them bitches in front of everyone. Then Mr. Combs facial expression shifted as he stepped toward Ms. Richard, raised his arm, and swung his fist toward her face. Believing Mr. Combs was going to hit her, Ms. Richard braced for impact. But before Mr. Combs could strike her, Mr. Combs' bodyguard grabbed her and escorted her out of the studio and forced her into the Bad Boy Records Bentley that was parked outside. side. Miss Harper ran after Miss Richard and Mr. Combs' bodyguard closed and locked the Bentley's doors with both women inside. Inside of that vehicle, Miss Richard realized there were no interior door handles and that they were locked inside with no way to escape. Her belongings were at the studio, but she was able to call her father from Miss Harper's cell phone. Miss Richard relayed to her father what happened and she needed help and feared that she would go missing. Moments later, Later, Mr. Combs' bodyguard removed only Ms. Harper from the Bentley, leaving Ms. Richard locked in the car alone for two hours. She screamed as loudly as she could, but no one was responding.

[38:52] It was late evening in the wintertime. The windows were heavily tinted and the interior of the car was dark except for faint interior lights. Ms. Richard's belongings and winter coat were in that studio and the ignition was off and there was no heat. With Mr. Combs' prior threats of violence running through her mind, she started to panic. She started getting claustrophobic. She's screaming in there. No one can hear her. She's freaking out, right? Ms. Richards' father drives to New York from Baltimore, arrives at the studio approximately two hours later. Only after her father arrived and and demanded to see her did Mr. Pierre and order Mr. Combs' bodyguards to release Ms. Richard from the vehicle. Mr. Pierre ushered Ms. Richard's father between several rooms at the studio where he waited for two hours before being able to confront Mr. Combs. Once Ms. Richard's father expressed he intended to contact police, Mr. Combs warned him to think about your family and think about your daughter's career her father appeared visibly frightened by mr combs threats and actions which in turn made miss richard feel terrified for herself and her family's safety the next night they performed at snl and mr combs called miss richard and complimented her on her performance and concluded it with this threat you don't call your dad unless you're in the hospital.

[40:20] So that was Dawn Richard and her lawsuit. He owes her a lot of money for a lot of things.

[40:31] And obviously this sick, some bitch right here.

[40:36] Those are a lot of money for all the hell he put her through that. I just read you. That's not, of course, as that's really bad. It's not as bad as Cassie's case, but let me tell you, let me catch you up. Really fast and then we're going to get into his criminal arrest that occurred just yesterday the 16th of september but before i do that let's talk about this six days prior to that he gets ordered to pay 100 million dollars to a guy that he supposedly sexually assaulted same day this lawsuit comes out with miss richard and if you notice in that lawsuit she references her witnessing missing a lot of the ass kicking that he would give Cassandra Ventura, Cassie, on a regular basis, that poor woman right there. And of course, we have the video that got released several months ago that I did a podcast about where it was on video, him kicking Cassie Ventura, dragging her by her hair. All this is on video in the I think it was the sixth episode that I released in the Diddy saga, I told you grand juries were being convened in New York. I had some information on that that was told to me. And there was actually several grand juries that had been convened in the last few months.

[42:05] And the evidence just was not there for a grand jury to turn in what's known as a true bill indictment. Let me explain to you what that is. When you get indicted for something, it is basically the police bringing evidence to a secret jury. Nobody knows who this grand jury is. They're secret. They meet in secret. And they hear all the evidence. And then they say, okay.

[42:35] Yes or no, whether or not you have enough evidence to get a conviction out of somebody for something.

[42:43] 7.13 p.m. yesterday, it comes out that Diddy is arrested and taken into federal custody in New York. They also stated that that arrest was going to happen on Tuesday, but that it was moved to Monday. They don't specify exactly why, but I can tell you it was probably because they were concerned Diddy was going to get wind of it. And so they were doing it quickly before he could run, right? Homeland Security swooped into a Midtown hotel late Monday where Diddy was staying and arrested him and are searching his hotel room. He was taken to the FBI field office in Manhattan. It appears the action was taken in connection to an ongoing criminal investigation into sex trafficking and other offenses that led to the search warrants being issued and executed at Diddy's homes in Beverly Hills and Miami. And of course, we did episodes on that. A grand jury has been hearing testimony from various accusers over the past few months. Now, Diddy's attorney came out, a guy by the name of Mark Agnefello, and he is quoted as saying, 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. Sean Diddy Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, proven philanthropist, and has spent the last 30 years building an empire.

[44:13] Enduring his children, and working to uplift the black community. Aglifino adds he is an imperfect person, but not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation, and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. 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. Yeah, bullshit.

[44:43] Now, I want to let you know this. I have the whole indictment and I actually went through and I have already recorded going through that entire indictment. However, as soon as I finished recording that, the federal prosecutor prosecuting this case, he held a press conference and broke it down. It wasn't as much legalese as I had to use in these documents. So since we've already been through a lot today with lawsuits and things that we've discussed already prior to this, I'm going to spare you kind of that legalese. I don't want to lose you. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to play the clip of that press conference right now. And after it's done, we'll talk about it. Here's what that That sounded like. Morning, everyone. My name is Damian Williams, and I'm the U.S. attorney here in the Southern District of New York. Today, I'm announcing the unsealing of a three-count indictment charging Sean Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution. The indictment alleges that between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened, and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.

[46:11] As alleged in the indictment, to carry out this conduct, Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice. Let me say a little bit more about the charges. The indictment alleges that Combs abused and exploited women and other people for years, and in a variety of ways.

[46:43] As alleged, Combs used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sex workers, some of whom he transported or caused to be transported over state lines. minds. Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances, which he called freak-offs, and he often electronically recorded them. The freak-offs sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics, such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, which Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant. As alleged, when Combs didn't get his way, he was violent, and he subjected victims to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the freak-offs, and that Combs hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times by their hair. On one occasion in March of 2016, that conduct was captured on video and later reported in the media. Specifically, Combs kicked, dragged, and threw a vase at a victim in a Los Angeles hotel when the victim was attempting to flee, As alleged, these assaults often resulted in injuries to the victims, which took days or weeks to heal.

[48:09] In addition to the violence, the indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the freak-offs. He used the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of the freak-offs as collateral against the victims. And the indictment alleges that he maintained control over the victims in several ways, including by giving them drugs, by giving and threatening to take away financial support court or housing, by promising them career opportunities, by monitoring their whereabouts, and even by dictating their physical appearance. Because of all of this, the indictment alleges that the victims did not believe they could refuse Combs without risking their security or facing more abuse. The indictment also alleges other acts of violence undertaken by Combs and and others, including violence against witnesses to his abuse, kidnapping, and arson. The indictment alleges that on more than one occasion, Combs carried or brandished firearms to intimidate and threaten victims and witnesses. Now, Combs did not do this all on his own. As I mentioned, Combs has been charged with RICO conspiracy. He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way.

[49:30] Those individuals allegedly included high-ranking supervisors in the business, personal assistants, security staff, and household staff. The indictment alleges that those individuals facilitated the freak-offs. They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, baby oil, personal lubricant, extra linens, and lighting.

[49:56] When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. They arranged for victims and commercial sex workers to travel for the freak-offs, and they delivered large quantities of cash to Combs to pay for the commercial sex workers. The indictment also alleges that they helped Combs cover up his crimes. During the March 2016 incident at the L.A. hotel that I mentioned earlier, a member of the hotel security staff intervened, and Combs attempted to bribe the staff member with a stack of cash to make sure that what happened was kept quiet. And as the indictment alleges, in late 2023, after public allegations were made about Combs' crimes, he and others pressured witnesses and victims to stay silent, including by making phone calls to witnesses and victims and giving them a false narrative of what they had experienced. And as alleged, Combs used others to help conceal his abuse by monitoring and preventing victims from leaving a location in order to hide their injuries, or by locating and contacting a victim who had attempted to flee.

[51:04] As part of this investigation, in March of this year, special agents from HSI executed search warrants at Combs' residences in Miami and Los Angeles. They also executed a warrant for Combs' electronic devices. During those searches, agents seized evidence of the crimes charged in this indictment. They seized firearms and ammunition, including three defaced AR-15s and a large-capacity drum magazine. They also seized evidence of the freak-offs. electronic devices that contain images and videos of the freak-offs with multiple victims. And they seized cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that Combs' staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak-offs, more than 1,000 bottles altogether.

[51:54] Here are some of the items that we recovered during the searches.

[52:03] As you can see here, this is a drum magazine, large capacity, and it contains, I believe, 59 rounds. I mentioned as well, we recovered three AR-15s. This is a close-up shot of one of the AR-15s, and you can see right here the serial number has been thoroughly defaced. Another picture of more ammunition and parts of two AR-15s right there. Now, I want to be clear about two things. First, this office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful or wealthy or famous you may be. No one should doubt our commitment on that. A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City. Today, he's been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York. Second, we are not done. This investigation is ongoing, and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and to do it quickly. Anyone with information can call 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.

[53:24] I want to express my deep appreciation for the victims and witnesses who have used their voices and helped bring this criminal conduct to light. We would not be here without them. I also want to thank the dedicated case agents on the HSI Trafficking in Person Squad in New York. They have been with us since day one and have worked tirelessly on this investigation. They will continue to be invaluable partners to us. I also want to thank the incredible agents and analysts from SCNY who have also provided tremendous assistance on this case, I'm deeply grateful for their continued work. And finally, I want to thank the outstanding career prosecutors from SCNY who are handling this case. Meredith Foster, Emily Johnson, Chrissy Slavik, Madison Smizer, and Mitzi Steiner, and their supervisors, Jamie Backlepter and Jacqueline Kelly. They are are members of the Civil Rights Unit in our criminal division. We created the Civil Rights Unit when I became U.S. Attorney. I'm deeply proud of their work on this and so many other cases.

[54:31] I'll now take some questions. Eric Katursky, ABC. Thanks, man. Damien, thanks. The indictment describes aggressive, open, violent, hedonistic abuse that you say was recurrent and widely known. Why did it take law enforcement so long to intervene? How many women were victimized by Sean Combs and how many others were involved? Look, our investigation is ongoing. going. We are committed to bringing justice to everyone who's been victimized by the defendant. I can't tell you why it took so long. I think the better focus is on the fact that we are here today and we are committed to making sure that justice is done. Next question. Julia Ainsley, NBC. Thank you for doing this. You said we are not done and that Combs did not do this alone. Do you foresee that there could be other charges related to this case? I'm not taking anything off the table.

[55:33] John Fisher, Newsday. What's the difference between the sex trafficking and promoting travel for the purpose of prostitution? Well, there are different crimes with different elements. I don't think we should get into the nitty-gritty of the legal discussion right now, but the sex trafficking, we believe, they're all serious offenses, but the sex trafficking conduct carries some significant penalties. And we are gratified that we were able to bring that charge. One more coercive than the other?

[56:05] I'm not going to be able to get into that, but you can look it up. And yes, sex trafficking, especially when it involves coercion or force, is a very serious crime and it carries significant penalties. Good afternoon, Darla Miles, ABC7 New York. Thank you for this press conference and for the details. Two questions. In context of this indictment and the information that was presented to the grand jury are you able to clarify the number of victims it's mentioned plural in the indictment but can you specify the number of victims just for this particular indictment and secondly can you provide details about the alleged arson unfortunately i'm not able to provide either the number of victims You are correct. We are intentional in saying multiple. The details of the arson incident are limited to what we have in the indictment and also the detention letter that we filed, which contains more details than the indictment does at various points. But we don't have anything more beyond that. Next question. Lynn Tran, CNN. Are any of his accomplices or associates under investigation? And additionally, could he face any more charges?

[57:22] So the investigation is ongoing. That means both as to him and to anyone else who we believe committed the crime with him. Nice question. Juliet Papa. Hi, good morning from 1010 Winds. Any indication that some of the women or victims here were imprisoned in his residences? And did he have locations where he kept them and did they were not allowed to leave? And also, he's indicted here, although there were searches and raids in L.A., Miami. Why in New York? Well, I'm biased. I'm the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. I think that we have an outstanding track record of bringing some of the most impactful, sprawling, complex, difficult sex trafficking, human trafficking, labor trafficking, you name it. The Southern District of New York can do it. And so we're very proud of that. And so the scope and complexity of this investigation isn't something that we ran from, it's something that we embrace, and we will continue to do that. As to your question about whether he imprisoned anyone, all I can say is that, you know, I mentioned this March 2016 incident where something was caught on video where a victim was attempting to flee, and there was violence that was associated with it.

[58:37] Um, that was at a hotel. Matthew Lee, inner city press. Sure. Uh, thanks a lot. Does your office intend to, to seek remand or are you reaching a bill package? And if you're willing, can you, how would you contrast this with the R Kelly case in, in EDNY in terms of the elements? Thanks. So, um, we will be seeking detention. We have filed a letter, um, laying out our reasoning, uh, for seeking pretrial detention. Um, I'm not going to be able to expand beyond what's in the letter, but it contains, um, all of the reasoning and it contains, uh, the law as well. There is a presumption of detention in a case like this, and we think that's warranted. John Anise, New York Daily News. Thank you. I was hoping to get some more detail about the searches of his residence, the guns, the cases of lubricant, and the videos. Where were they found amongst his residence? Were they all scattered around the houses in one place? I kind of wanted to just get a better picture of of how that stuff was found? Well, look, I think that some of the details that you're seeking are in the detention letter. So for instance, some of the AR-15s, two of the three defaced AR-15s were found in his bedroom closet in Miami, broken down into parts along with magazines, with ammunition loaded in them. So some of that detail is in the detention letter. Beyond that, I'm not going to be able to get into where other items were stored.

[1:00:04] Ben Kochman, Post. Hey, thanks for doing this. Your office was the office that had been prosecuting Jeffrey Epstein before he died in custody. I have not read your detention memo yet. It's the first thing I'm going to do after this ends.

[1:00:28] Does the memo address or is your office concerned with Combs' safety in custody, given what happened with Epstein? So we are concerned with anyone's safety whenever they are detained prior to trial. It's part of our obligations to keep people safe as well. It's part of the criminal justice system. But I do not draw any sort of connection between Jeffrey Epstein's suicide and what may or may not happen to any other defendant while they are detained pretrial. And of course, the decision whether to detain the defendant will be up to a judge. Our position is that pretrial detention is warranted under the law and based on the facts of this case. And I'll leave it at that. Are some of the prosecutors on this case some of the same prosecutors that had been handling that or that worked on the Maxwell case? So I'm not going to get into the staffing. I will say that this team, this group of AUSAs, this incredible group has been working on this case around the clock, and they've had their hands full. Next question. Gus Rosendale, NBC News.

[1:01:45] Good morning, sir. Combs' attorney said that his client has been cooperative with investigators. He said that this morning. I was wondering if you would have a reaction to that. Let me just say this. I think that generally and with increasing frequency, the word cooperative or cooperating has taken on tremendous elasticity and no longer really bears any relation to what the word means when we use it in a very specific context. So responding to lawful process and the like does not qualify as cooperation when we use that term here. Mike Sissak, AP.

[1:02:28] Thanks. To that end, was there any discussion of Mr. Combs surrendering? I understand he was taken into custody at a hotel in Manhattan last night, and maybe that wasn't the plan. Can you elaborate on how that came about and why that was? I'm not going to be able to get into any sort of operational details as to how he was taken into custody and when he is in custody right now. He will be appearing in court later today. Was there any discussion of him surrendering given, you know, they claim he's cooperating? I'm not going to be able to get into law enforcement tactics or operations. How come you're not showing up there?

[1:03:08] Well, I can't get into the charging decision. It is very meaningful to us that weapons were possessed, as we allege in the indictment. Part of the reason why this conduct was so pervasive and harmful was because victims and others didn't necessarily feel comfortable denying him his wishes, as we allege, because of the presence of firearms. I should leave it there. Thanks. Last question, Jacob Shamson. Jacob Shamson, Business Insider. Thank you. Given that he's the sole defendant in this case and that you allege he's part of a conspiracy that involves members of his companies, do you anticipate a superseding indictment that will bring allegations against other members of his companies or other co-conspirators as well? Again, I can't take anything off the table. Anything is possible. Our investigation is It's very active and ongoing, and I think a lot of you who cover this office know that when we say such things, that developments are certainly foreseeable, but I cannot predict them sitting here today. All right. Thank you, everyone. Thank you.

[1:04:22] Thank you, everyone. Thank you. So there you have it. That was the press conference. It aired about 1130 today. And look, all day there's been twists and turns to this case. But you heard the attorney state, hey, we're going to try to get bail denied for Diddy because he's a flight risk. Well, just an hour ago, and look, I'm recording this at 6 o'clock at night now. I started at 7 o'clock this morning. That's how many twists and turns it's had. Ad.

[1:04:58] But this was just released. I'm referencing Fox News. Diddy denied bail after pleading not guilty to sex trafficking crimes. A judge denied Sean Diddy Combs' request for bail after the rapper pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking. Combs appeared in front of Robin Tarnofsky. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. In a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, Diddy was charged with racketeering, conspiracy, and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution and found guilty, he faces a minimum of 15 years and a max sentence of life. The judge decided there were no conditions she could impose on Diddy, pointing out sex trafficking is a crime that happens behind closed doors and the rapper would be hard to monitor even with a pretrial monitoring service. The judge considered alternatives to detainment but found they were not sufficient. The judge conceded the weight of the evidence against Diddy is significant and Diddy's legal team of course plans to appeal. His lawyer said Mr. Combs is a fighter. He's going to fight this till the end. He's innocent. He came to New York to establish that. He's not afraid. He's not afraid of the charges. There's nothing that the government said in their presentation today day that changes anyone's mind about anything, whatever.

[1:06:22] He's been looking forward to this day. He's been looking forward to clearing his name, and he's going to clear it, and we're going to stand by his side as he does so. We believe in him wholeheartedly. He didn't do these things. Lies, all lies. The U.S. District Attorney's Office requested the judge deny bail ahead of his arraignment, characterizing the I'll Be Missing You singer as a potential flight risk. The attorney's office worried that he would possibly obstruct justice or threaten witnesses. The government pointed to his decades-long history of violence and pattern of abuse, alleged. The attorney's office indicated no bail conditions could address these possible issues. Now, I want to be clear with two things. First, this office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful or wealthy. That from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. The rapper entered the courtroom for his arraignment wearing a black T-shirt and khaki pants. He was not handcuffed, nor were his feet shackled. After sitting down next to his attorney, he glanced around the courtroom and looked at the jury box.

[1:07:31] So there you have it. So to wrap this aspect up, obviously several counts against Diddy, and he's in a lot of trouble. He's facing life in prison. And I'm going to read you something really quick from the U.S. Attorney, and he just released this about 30 minutes ago from the recording of this, says the feds do not want Diddy to be allowed out on bail. This from U.S. attorney Damian Williams, and I would agree with that. He says his office believes he is a flight risk and is also a danger to society as he's allegedly resorted to violence against multiple victims. Prosecutors point to the fact that Diddy, if convicted, is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison as motive enough for him to potentially flee. 100 if they let him out of jail he's running you heard it here first a lot of moving parts this is nowhere near done i told you i told you we were really going to get into it once he got arrested that has happened i'm going to keep you updated thank you for listening look quickly.

[1:08:48] Quickly check out the murder all series if you haven't had the pleasure of doing so it is on fire uh and i cover every single inch of that case we're on the third episode now of that series it's gonna be a long series there's a lot of moving parts to that one but we'll be dropping that every tuesday ongoing and don't forget every thursday a new episode of exposed and if If there's some special things to drop, I'll drop an episode in the middle of the week and you'll have three episodes that week. So just a lot going on and we're going to make sure that you stay updated real quick. Thank you to all the Patreon celeb members. If you can't be a member of that celebrity tier, that celebrity team on Patreon, look, I totally get it. I understand it. No problem. I appreciate you just listening to the show. And if you can share it on your social media, I'd appreciate that. But I can tell you this show could not run without those people that support that Patreon.

[1:09:58] Music.

[1:10:03] So thank you very much. I can't tell you how much that means to me. And until next time, for Exposed, Scandalous Files of the Elite, I'm your host, Jim Chapman. Much love.

[1:10:18] Music.