Federal brokers from the Division of Homeland Safety on Monday raided a house within the Los Angeles space {that a} law-enforcement official stated was related to Sean Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has been accused of sexual assault and intercourse trafficking in a number of civil lawsuits over the past a number of months.
In an announcement on Monday, in response to questions on information studies of a raid on Mr. Combs’s residence, Homeland Safety Investigations stated: “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available.”
The division didn’t say who was the goal of the investigation. Video from Fox 11 (KTTV), an area tv information station in Los Angeles, confirmed officers coming into a house within the Holmby Hills space of the town which the station stated was related to Mr. Combs’s firm, Dangerous Boy Leisure.
The U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace in Manhattan declined to remark.
Combs, 54, generally known as Puff Daddy and Diddy, performed an integral function within the transformation of hip-hop into a world industrial pressure, but has been dogged for many years by accusations of violence. In November, he was sued for sexual assault by Casandra Ventura, his former girlfriend, who was additionally signed to his label, Dangerous Boy, because the performing artist Cassie.
In her go well with, Ms. Ventura accused Mr. Combs of forcing her to have interaction in sexual exercise with male prostitutes over a interval of years. The go well with stated that on account of these encounters, which came about in numerous cities throughout america, Ms. Ventura was a sufferer of intercourse trafficking.
Ms. Ventura’s civil go well with was settled in just one day, together with her and Mr. Combs saying their dispute had been resolved “amicably.”
However her go well with was adopted by a number of extra circumstances, every accusing Mr. Combs of sexual assault. In one case filed last month, a music producer, Rodney Jones, stated that Mr. Combs had made undesirable sexual contact with him, and compelled him to rent prostitutes and take part in intercourse acts with them.
Mr. Combs has denied the accusations towards him. In December, after an nameless lady filed a suit accusing Mr. Combs and two different males of raping her in a New York recording studio in 2003, when she was 17, the music mogul stated: “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
After Mr. Jones’s go well with final month, Shawn Holley, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, stated Mr. Jones is “nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday,” and known as his accusations “pure fiction.”
In an announcement on Monday, Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer who represents Ms. Ventura and the nameless lady who sued Mr. Combs alleging the assault at a New York studio, stated: “We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
Hamed Aleaziz contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.
