Federal agents on Monday searched homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area linked to hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, an individual with knowledge of the matter said.
The Department of Homeland Security conducted the raids but didn’t provide details of the case, including whether Mr. Combs was targeted or what criminal charges were under investigation. Mr. Combs, also often called Puff Daddy or Diddy, has been accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking in multiple civil lawsuits over the past few months.
A spokesman for Mr. Combs didn’t reply to a request for comment.
The case was being investigated by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security, a law enforcement official said. Southern District spokesman Nicholas Biase declined to comment.
In an announcement, Homeland Security said New York agents “were performing law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with the assistance of HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners.”
Video from local television station Fox 11 (KTTV) in Los Angeles shows armed officers entering a house in the Holmby Hills neighborhood that law enforcement officials said was related to Mr. Combs. California public records also show the home is owned by an organization run by Mr. Combs.
The raids represented a shocking profession development for Mr. Combs, 54, a producer, record executive and occasional rapper who has been some of the influential and well known figures in the music industry for the past 30 years.
He played an integral role in turning hip-hop into a worldwide business force, creating hits and larger-than-life personas for rap and R&B artists akin to Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. Sam also created hits with songs akin to “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997), a ballad for Notorious B.I.G. after his death in a drive-by shooting that featured Faith Evans, the rapper’s widow, and sampled songs by The Police press “Every Breath You Take.”
But Mr. Combs has been dogged by allegations of violence for decades. In November, he was sued for sexual assault by Casandra Ventura, his ex-girlfriend who was also signed to his Bad Boy label as performer Cassie.
In her lawsuit, Ms. Ventura accused Mr. Combs of forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes for years. The lawsuit alleged that as a result of these encounters, which took place in multiple U.S. cities, Ms. Ventura became a victim of sex trafficking.
Ms. Ventura’s civil lawsuit was settled in just one day, and she and Mr. Combs said their dispute had been resolved “amicably.”
The case, filed as part of a detailed 35-page complaint, made international headlines and threatened the business brand he had steadily built over decades. In the months before Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit, Mr. Combs received industry awards and released his first studio album in 17 years.
Even after its settlement, Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit was followed by several more cases, each accusing Mr. Combs of sexual assault. In one case filed last month, music producer Rodney Jones alleged that Mr. Combs made unwanted sexual contact with him and forced him to hire prostitutes and engage in sexual acts with them. In recent months, many of Mr. Combs’ business partners have distanced themselves from him.
Federal investigators in New York are investigating and have been conducting interviews for several months, asking potential witnesses about the sexual misconduct allegations against Mr. Combs, according to a person familiar with the hearings.
Mr. Combs has denied the accusations against him. In December, after an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit 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: “The disgusting allegations made against me by individuals I am seeking quick payment. “I want to be clear: I did not do any of the terrible things they accuse me of.”
After Mr. Jones’ lawsuit last month, Shawn Holley, Mr. Combs’ lawyer, said Mr. Jones was “just a liar who shamelessly filed a $30 million lawsuit seeking an undeserved payout” and called his accusations “pure fiction.” ” Ms. Holley and two other lawyers for Mr. Combs also did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
In a statement on Monday, Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer representing Ms. Ventura and the unnamed woman who sued Mr. Combs over the New York studio attack, said: “We will always support law enforcement as they seek to prosecute those who violate the law. “Let us hope this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs accountable for his depraved behavior.”
The house searched in Miami Beach was on Star Island, an exclusive enclave of Biscayne Bay residences popular with celebrities and the rich. On Monday, the standard calm was broken by a Department of Homeland Security van with flashing red and blue lights, law enforcement officers in blue windbreakers and at the very least two agents with dogs, and journalists strolling the palm-lined lawns.
An analogous scene unfolded near Mr. Combs’ home in Los Angeles, where in the late afternoon several dozen people, including many journalists, milled across the busy Holmby Hills neighborhood, unable to cross yellow caution tape stretched along South Mapleton Drive.
Several Los Angeles law enforcement officials blocked the road resulting in Mr. Combs’ property. Passersby showed interest, and drivers of luxury SUVs slowed right down to take photos of the scrum.
The neighborhood, situated only a mile east of the University of California, Los Angeles, is used to the eye. Boasting an extended list of famous residents, that is where Hugh Hefner once hosted lavish parties on the Playboy Mansion, and Michael Jackson lived in the castle just before his death. Most properties are surrounded by gates and greenery or vine-covered stone partitions – pillars of privacy in a community known for its exclusivity.
Hamed Aleaziz reported from Washington, D.C. Chelsea Rose Marcius from New York, Corina Knoll from Los Angeles and Weronika Zaragowia from Miami.
