Cassie vs. Sean Combs: Lawsuit, Settlement, and Sentence

Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, filed in November 2023, accused the music mogul of trapping her in a decade-long cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking. It settled for $20 million one day after it was filed, and its allegations became the foundation for a federal criminal case that ended with Combs convicted on two prostitution-transportation counts and sentenced to 50 months in prison.¹²

What the Lawsuit Alleged

Ventura filed her complaint on November 16, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She and Combs had met in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37, and dated for roughly a decade while she was signed to his Bad Boy Records label.³

The complaint accused Combs of forcing Ventura into “Freak Offs,” which she described as repeated sexual encounters with male sex workers that he directed, filmed, and used as blackmail material. She alleged he beat her frequently, leaving bruises, black eyes, and burst lips, and raped her after she tried to end the relationship. She also accused him of blowing up the car of a musician who had shown romantic interest in her, carrying firearms in her presence, and using employees to track her whenever she tried to escape.¹

The lawsuit invoked federal sex trafficking statutes alongside New York and California laws protecting victims of sexual abuse, trafficking, and gender-motivated violence.¹

How the Adult Survivors Act Made the Case Possible

Ventura’s claims would have been time-barred under ordinary statutes of limitations. She could file only because of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in May 2022. The law opened a one-year window, from November 24, 2022, to November 24, 2023, during which survivors of sexual abuse could bring civil claims no matter how old the underlying conduct.⁴ Ventura filed with just over a week left in that window. More than 2,600 claims were filed under the act before it expired. Her attorney, Douglas Wigdor, later said the law gave his client a way to hold Combs publicly accountable rather than settle privately.⁵

The $20 Million Settlement

The case settled on November 17, 2023, one day after it was filed. Ventura later testified that the amount was $20 million.⁶ Ventura said she resolved the matter “amicably on terms that I have some level of control.” Combs’ attorney at the time, Ben Brafman, said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”⁷

The two sides publicly disputed what preceded the filing. Brafman said Ventura had spent six months demanding $30 million and threatening to write a book about the relationship, calling it “blatant blackmail.” Wigdor countered that Combs had offered Ventura “eight figures to silence her” and keep the lawsuit from being filed at all.⁸

The 2016 Hotel Video

Six months after the settlement, on May 17, 2024, CNN published surveillance footage from the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, recorded in March 2016. It showed Combs grabbing Ventura in a hallway, throwing her to the ground, kicking her twice, and dragging her by her sweatshirt. The footage was consistent with allegations in the complaint.⁹¹⁰

Two days later, Combs posted an Instagram apology: “My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.” Ventura’s attorney Meredith Firetog called the statement “disingenuous” and “pathetic desperation,” pointing out that Combs had previously denied all the allegations. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it could not bring charges because the incident fell outside the statute of limitations for assault.¹¹

From Civil Suit to Federal Indictment

On September 16, 2024, federal agents arrested Combs in New York. A three-count indictment was unsealed the next day in the Southern District of New York, charging him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. The racketeering and sex trafficking counts each carried a potential life sentence; the transportation count carried up to 10 years.¹² Combs pleaded not guilty. A judge denied him bail, and he remained in federal detention.¹³

Ventura at the Criminal Trial

Ventura was the prosecution’s central witness. She testified over four days in May 2025, while more than eight months pregnant. She described physical abuse she said began in 2007: “He would knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp my head if I was down.” Prosecutors showed jurors photos of her injuries, including a permanent scar from a gashed eyebrow.¹⁴

She testified that the “Freak Offs” were mandatory, drug-fueled sexual encounters she was required to arrange and participate in. “If I pleased him with a freak-off, then my premiere would run smoothly,” she said, describing how Combs used the sessions as leverage over her career. She said he filmed the encounters and used the recordings to keep her from leaving.¹⁴

Ventura also testified about a 2018 incident in which Combs, after what she described as a “closure conversation,” drove her home and raped her in her living room. On her final day on the stand, she told jurors Combs’ abuse made her feel “worthless, just like dirt,” and said she would return the $20 million settlement “if I never had to participate in a freak off” and could regain her “agency and autonomy.”¹⁵

The defense worked to reframe the relationship as mutually toxic rather than criminal. Attorney Anna Estevao presented affectionate text messages and a 2009 email in which Ventura wrote, “i am always ready to freak off Lol,” arguing she had been a willing participant.¹⁶ Jurors heard a 2014 audio recording in which Ventura aggressively threatened a man named Sugit about a sex tape.¹⁵ The defense challenged discrepancies in her account of the 2018 assault and suggested she had canceled a music tour not because of emotional distress but because the settlement money made touring unnecessary.¹⁷

The Verdict and Sentence

On July 2, 2025, after more than 13 hours of deliberation, the jury delivered a split verdict. Combs was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and both sex trafficking counts, including one tied specifically to Ventura. He was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, a Mann Act violation involving moving sex workers across state lines.²

On October 3, 2025, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs to 50 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine. Prosecutors had sought more than 11 years; the defense had asked for 14 months, which would have equaled time served. The judge cited the “repeated nature” of the crimes and the violence toward former partners, and said the sentence was meant to signal that “violence against women is met with real accountability.”¹⁸¹⁹

Combs’ legal team filed an appeal with the Second Circuit on December 23, 2025, arguing that Judge Subramanian improperly considered “acquitted conduct” in setting the sentence and had “acted as a thirteenth juror,” tripling what the sentence would otherwise have been.²⁰ The Second Circuit heard argument on April 9, 2026, and the appeal remains pending. The Bureau of Prisons lists Combs’ projected release as February 2028, adjusted for good conduct.²¹

Ventura’s attorney Douglas Wigdor said after the verdict that Ventura was “pleased that he’s been found guilty and held responsible to federal crimes, something that he’s never been held responsible for in his entire life.” He acknowledged the acquittals on the top counts but noted that “beyond a reasonable doubt is a high standard,” and said in a written statement that Ventura “paved the way” for the conviction.²²

The Wave of Related Lawsuits

Ventura’s filing opened the door to a wave of civil litigation against Combs. Within days, Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a separate suit alleging sexual assault. Over the following months, more than two dozen additional civil suits were filed by former employees, industry figures, and anonymous accusers.²³ In October 2024, attorney Tony Buzbee announced his firm would represent more than 120 plaintiffs, with allegations spanning decades and including claims from men, women, and individuals who were minors at the time of the alleged abuse.²⁴

Many of these cases were filed under the same Adult Survivors Act window Ventura used. Several also named corporate co-defendants, including Universal Music Group and Sony Music’s Arista Records, alleging they aided or failed to prevent Combs’ conduct.²³

Where Ventura Is Now

Ventura married personal trainer Alex Fine in August 2019. They have three children: daughters Frankie and Sunny, and a son born in late May 2025. Fine was in the courtroom during her testimony.²⁵

In a court declaration filed on May 1, 2026, Ventura stated: “I reside outside of the United States. I do not intend to move back to the United States.” The declaration was filed as part of a motion to dismiss or change venue in a lawsuit brought by Clayton Howard, a male escort who sued both Ventura and Combs, alleging he was harmed during “Freak Off” encounters. Ventura has moved to dismiss the case; her legal team disclosed that Howard sent Alex Fine a supportive message in 2023 after the original suit was filed, writing, “I know your wife’s truth is 100% valid.”²⁶

1
Courthouse News Service. Ventura v. Combs Complaint
2
NPR. Federal Jury Finds Sean Combs Guilty of Two Counts but Not Guilty on Most Serious Charges
3
PBS NewsHour. Cassie Testifies Diddy Kept Her in Cycle of Abuse by Threatening to Release Sex Videos
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ABC News. Flurry of Lawsuits Under Adult Survivors Act Roils Entertainment and Political Circles
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CNN. Sexual Assault Lookback Window Cassie Ventura
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ABC News. Settlement Amount Cassie Venturas Suit Sean Diddy Combs
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NBC News. Sean Diddy Combs Cassie Reach Settlement Day Lawsuit Accused Rape
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PBS NewsHour. Sean Diddy Combs Reaches Settlement With Cassie a Day After She Files Abuse Lawsuit
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The New York Times. Sean Combs Diddy Cassie Assault Video
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CNN. Sean Diddy Combs Cassie Ventura Surveillance Video
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NBC News. Sean Combs Says Behavior Inexcusable Released Cassie Hotel Surveillance
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U.S. Department of Justice. Sean Combs Charged in Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking and Other Federal Offenses
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CNN. Takeaways Indictment Sean Diddy Combs
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NPR. Diddy Trial Cassie Sean Combs
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ABC News. Sean Diddy Combs Trial Day 9 Ventura Spars
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NBC News. Sean Diddy Combs Trial Cassie Ventura Live Updates
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CBS News. Diddy Trial Live Updates Cassie Cross Examination
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NBC News. Diddy Sentencing Sean Combs Trial Guilty Verdict Prison Live Updates
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ABC News. Sean Diddy Combs Lawyers Allege Judge Acted as 13th Juror
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NBC News. Expedited Appeal Sean Combs Calls Overturning Conviction
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Deadline. Diddy Sentence Shortened Again
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ABC7 New York. Cassie Venturas Lawyer Gives Statement Diddy Split Verdict She Paved
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NPR. Diddy Sean Combs Cassie Kid Cudi Jodeci
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BBC News. Sean Diddy Combs Lawsuits Timeline
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People. All About Alex Fine Cassie Husband
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E! News. Cassie Ventura Living Outside United States After Diddy Trial