Sean “Diddy” Combs, the notorious hip-hop entrepreneur, faces federal sex trafficking and racketeering allegations in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday. He was arrested on Monday in New York after being indicted by a federal grand jury. The arrest and indictment after a months-long sex trafficking investigation and 10 months after a slew of women came forward with sexual and other mistreatment claims.

Prior to the unsealing of the indictment, Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, stated that they knew what the allegations would be and that Combs was “innocent of these charges.”

What To Know About Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Indictment

Here are the essential details from the three-count indictment.

Alleged assaults stretch back to 2008.
The indictment includes extensive details about Combs’ alleged assaults on several women since 2008. He is accused of “verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual” abuse, as well as having “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair” in assaults that took “days or weeks to heal.”

According to the indictment, Combs orchestrated sexual encounters between his victims and male sex workers he referred to as “Freak Offs” — “elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”

According to prosecutors, these encounters may last for days and frequently included many commercial sex workers, with Combs drugging the participants to “keep the victims obedient and compliant.” The raids on Combs’ houses in Los Angeles and Miami resulted in the seizure of supplies for the “Freak Offs,” including pills and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors.

Combs is accused of leading a criminal business.
The indictment claims that Combs and others he knew were members of a criminal organization that engaged in a variety of illegal activities, including sex trafficking, forced labor, prostitution-related transportation and coercion, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice. Combs is accused of leading the illicit operations, and the indictment alleges that individuals who worked for him, such as security personnel, domestic staff, personal assistants, and “high-ranking supervisors,” were all involved in the criminal activity, either consciously or unknowingly.

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According to prosecutors, Combs’ supporters used violence to maintain and safeguard his control, including the use of weapons, threats of violence, coercion, and verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual assault.

“Combs did not do this all on his own,” stated Damian Williams, the United States Attorney in Manhattan, at a press conference on Tuesday morning. “He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way.”

Williams also said that Combs workers were involved in organizing and coordinating the “Freak Offs,” including supplying items, cleaning hotel rooms after the encounters, and assisting in the cover-up of the assaults.

The racketeering conspiracy allegation has been widely utilized to bring down the Mafia and drug cartels.

Prosecutors allege that Combs used firearms to intimidate and threaten victims and witnesses of his crimes, leading them to remain silent. Law enforcement officials said they discovered guns and ammo, including three AR-15s with “defaced” serial numbers, during raids on his houses in Los Angeles and Miami.

The indictment also accuses Combs of exploiting his victims’ desire to advance their careers in the music industry by utilizing his money and influence. Officials also claimed that Combs exploited recordings of the “Freak Offs” to prevent the victims from coming forward. According to authorities, Combs controlled his victims’ housing, tracked their location, dictated their looks, monitored their medical records, and supplied them with narcotics.

Another court filing outlines Combs and his colleagues’ other acts of violence and intimidation, such as kidnapping one individual at gunpoint and ripping open a car’s convertible top to drop a Molotov cocktail inside, causing the car to explode. According to the lawsuit, these events can be corroborated by police reports, fire department records, and witnesses.

What To Know About Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Indictment

The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests are possible.
Prosecutors say they’ve interviewed over 50 victims and witnesses to Combs’ abuse, but they expect more to come forward with their stories.

Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, prosecutors have stated that they are unable to divulge certain specifics, such as information regarding the witnesses who have submitted or will provide testimony.

Williams said Tuesday that he wants Combs imprisoned while he awaits trial. When asked if Combs’ acquaintances or employees will face charges, Williams said he “can’t take anything off the table.”

“Our investigation is very active and ongoing,” she said.

SOURCE | AP

Los Angeles — Anna Sorokin, a convicted con artist, appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” with a featherweight — and extremely glittery — ankle monitor.

The so-called ‘fake heiress,’ who was convicted of swindling banks, hotels, and friends in 2019 after fraudulently claiming to be a wealthy German heiress named Anna Delvey, debuted the ballroom-worthy ankle monitor during the launch of “Dancing With the Stars'” new season Tuesday night.

“It’s not a huge deal at all. It’s quite light, and I asked them to tighten it so it doesn’t droop. So it’s not too horrible,” she told The Associated Press following the premiere. She and professional dancer Ezra Sosa performed a routine to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”

‘Fake Heiress’ Anna Sorokin Debuts On ‘Dancing With The Stars’ — With A Sparkly Ankle Monitor

“It’s the real star of the show, let’s be honest here,” Sosa said of Sorokin’s glittering ankle monitor.

“I think it’s kind of funny how people like — it’s not like an ankle weight,” Sosa told reporters. “It’s not like twenty pounds. It’s literally less than a pound, so it’s no big issue.”

Sorokin recognized that her debut did not go as expected.

“I feel relieved that it’s over,” she stated. “I feel like my dance could have been a little bit better, but I’m happy I’ve done this and it was a great experience all over.”

Sorokin expressed optimism that viewers will be forgiving despite her criminal history.

“Hopefully, people will give me a chance to demonstrate what I can do. “And I served my sentence and paid my restitution,” she claimed.

‘Fake Heiress’ Anna Sorokin Debuts On ‘Dancing With The Stars’ — With A Sparkly Ankle Monitor

Early fan reactions were negative, with the phrase “Anna Delvey’s Lacklustre DWTS Debut” trending on social media site X.

She was released from prison in February 2021, but immigration authorities apprehended her immediately after, stating she had overstayed her visa and needed to be repatriated to her native Germany. The “Inventing Anna” inspiration was in ICE custody for more than a year before a judge paved the way for her to be transferred to house confinement in October 2022 while fighting deportation.

Her parole conditions had to be modified to allow her to travel from New York to Los Angeles for filming.

SOURCE | AP

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – The Stanley Cup is still on its championship journey through South Florida. It was on a basketball court with the Miami Heat this week, will be somewhere else on Thursday, and has a few more appearances scheduled after that. So, in some ways, the party associated with winning the NHL championship is still going strong.

That is, except for the Florida Panthers’ practice facility. The champions are back at work.

Stanley Cup Champion Panthers Getting Back To Work, Insisting It’s Time To Look Forward

Florida begins training camp on Thursday, and coach Paul Maurice makes one thing clear: it’s time to start preparing for the next title run, not to continue reveling in the title run that ended in June.

“There will be some backward-looking stuff, which is understandable. “We’ll handle the banner raisings, ring ceremonies, and all of the other fun stuff,” Maurice said Wednesday as the squad gathered for its annual media day. “But we’ll be very sure that our day is completely focused on what we’re doing, not living in the past.”

That message appears to be reaching its intended audience.

Most players have been back in South Florida for at least a few weeks. According to Maurice, the returning Panthers are all in better form than they were at this point last season, as evidenced by pre-camp conditioning testing. The big test comes Thursday with the first practices, and Maurice’s training camp sessions are famously difficult.

“The hangover concept, we will not believe in it,” Maurice stated. “It’s not a physical concern for us. We’re stronger than we were at this point last year, which is a testament to them because they couldn’t have improved without putting in the effort.”

Florida’s top eight scorers, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Gustav Forsling, and Anton Lundell, are all back from last season. Verhaeghe and Reinhart scored in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, as Florida defeated Edmonton 2-1 to win its first title and avoid an epic collapse after winning the first three games of the series, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky returns for his sixth season as the Panthers’ go-to guy in net.

Some roster places are up for grabs, but the core from the title run remains mostly intact. Even though the Cup has been won, capping a lifelong dream for Maurice and the players, there is enough motivation to win it again.

“At the end of the day, I love what I do,” Bobrovsky added. “It is a blessing to be here today, and I am delighted to compete for the dream again. However, it makes little difference what happened in the past. I simply care about the moment at hand, which is this one.”

Things will start moving swiftly. Practices begin Thursday, and Florida plays its first two preseason games on Sunday, including the usual doubleheader versus Nashville, in which most, if not all, of the 50 or so available players in camp will play.

Stanley Cup Champion Panthers Getting Back To Work, Insisting It’s Time To Look Forward

The Cup banner will be raised on October 8, when Florida hosts Boston in the regular season opener. With that, the 82-game grind will begin. But Maurice swears that he isn’t skipping any steps, that he hasn’t even considered opening night or anything else between now and then.

“I’m not prepared for anything but Day One.” “I don’t want to think about Day 2,” Maurice stated. “You cannot win the Stanley Cup on September 19th, the first day of practice. But you may begin the process by giving yourself a chance. This will be Day One on the ice. You have to be aware of how difficult it was and do the effort and pay the price in order to give yourself a shot.”

SOURCE | AP