On March 25, 2024, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations raided Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami Beach as part of a sex trafficking investigation run by the Southern District of New York. The Diddy raid turned up drugs, firearms with defaced serial numbers, electronic recordings, and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant across the two properties, and the evidence helped build a federal case that ended with Combs convicted on two prostitution-transportation counts and sentenced to 50 months in federal prison.1NBC Miami. Guns and Ammo Freak Off Supplies Found in Raid of Diddys Miami Beach Mansion2NBC News. Diddy Sentencing Live Updates
How the Raids Unfolded
HSI New York led the operation with support from HSI field offices in Los Angeles and Miami.3NPR. Homes Linked to Sean Diddy Combs Raided by Law Enforcement Agents executed judicially authorized search warrants at both properties at the same time. The timing was deliberate. HSI Special Agent Gerard Gannon later testified at trial that agents waited to move until Combs and his family had boarded a private plane at Miami’s Opa-Locka Executive Airport, where a separate warrant was executed on Combs and his chief of staff.4Fox News. Government Disclosure Filing
At the Star Island estate in Miami Beach, roughly 80 to 90 agents searched the property by land and sea. An armored vehicle breached the security gate while boats patrolled nearby waters, and agents handcuffed and searched about half a dozen employees found on-site.5NewsNation. Diddy Trial Photos From Miami Raid
In Los Angeles, video footage showed two heavily armored vehicles and armed agents in tactical gear arriving at the Holmby Hills estate, which was registered to Combs’ production company, Bad Boy Films, and one of his daughters.6ABC News. New Video Shows Federal Agents Armored Vehicles Raid Combs’ sons Justin Dior Combs and Christian “King” Combs were at the LA home and were briefly detained during the search, though neither was arrested. Home security footage later reviewed by the Los Angeles Times showed agents in military-style gear pointing firearms toward the sons during the detention.7Los Angeles Times. Diddy Raid Video Shows Militarized Force
Combs himself was not detained or arrested that day. His attorney, Aaron Dyer, called the operation a “gross overuse of military-level force” and an “unprecedented ambush,” and said Combs had cooperated with authorities.8FOX LA. LA Home Raided by Homeland Security
What Agents Found
Trial testimony and prosecution exhibits later laid out the inventory. At the Miami mansion, Special Agent Gannon testified that agents recovered parts to two AR-15-style rifles, some with defaced serial numbers, along with a loaded handgun.9NBC Miami. Federal Agent Details Raid of Diddys Star Island Home at Sex Trafficking Trial Agents also found substances that tested positive for cocaine, ketamine, MDMA, Xanax, and psilocybin mushrooms.10Forbes. Diddy Photos Trial Evidence Shows What Investigators Found After Raiding Rappers Mansion
Across the two properties, agents seized more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, along with sex toys, condoms, lingerie, and platform high heels. IV fluids were also recovered; prosecutors said these were used for recovery from exertion and drug use after marathon sexual sessions. Electronic recordings and videos were seized as well, which prosecutors later described as footage of events they called “Freak Offs.”1NBC Miami. Guns and Ammo Freak Off Supplies Found in Raid of Diddys Miami Beach Mansion
What Led to the Investigation
The federal probe followed a cascade of civil lawsuits. In November 2023, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura sued Combs in New York federal court, alleging a decade of physical and sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and coercion. After signing to Bad Boy Records in 2006, Ventura alleged, she was forced into what the complaint called “Freak Offs” — staged sexual encounters with male sex workers that Combs directed, filmed, and used as blackmail. She also said he beat, kicked, and dragged her repeatedly over the years.11Courthouse News Service. Ventura v. Combs Complaint
The suit was settled the day after it was filed, reportedly for $20 million.12NPR. Diddy Trial Cassie Sean Combs Combs denied the allegations at the time. The filing opened the floodgates. By late 2023, three other women had filed separate sexual assault lawsuits, and reports indicated Ventura cooperated with federal investigators, potentially helping to establish probable cause for the March 2024 search warrants.13NewsNation. Diddy Sean Combs Raids Investigation
Arrest and Indictment
Nearly six months after the raids, Combs was arrested on the evening of September 16, 2024, at a Manhattan hotel room where agents also found suspected narcotics.14CNN. Sean Diddy Combs Arrested NYC15New York Times. Sean Combs Diddy Indicted A three-count federal indictment unsealed the next day in the Southern District of New York charged him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. The indictment alleged Combs had led a criminal enterprise dating to at least 2008, using employees, business infrastructure, and violence to facilitate the abuse.16U.S. Department of Justice. Sean Combs Charged in Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking and Other Federal Offenses
Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky denied bail, citing Combs’ “anger issues,” history of substance abuse, and the nature of the alleged crimes. She noted her concern that the alleged conduct occurred “behind closed doors” even under monitoring.14CNN. Sean Diddy Combs Arrested NYC Combs pleaded not guilty. An April 2025 superseding indictment added two more counts tied to alleged conduct between 2021 and 2024 involving an additional victim; Combs pleaded not guilty to those as well.17NPR. Sean Diddy Combs New Trafficking Charges
Trial and Verdict
Jury selection began on May 5, 2025, in Manhattan, with opening arguments on May 12 before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.18NPR. Sean Diddy Combs Federal Trial Timeline19BBC. Diddy Trial Witnesses20ABC News. Who Testified at Sean Diddy Combs Trial Recap The prosecution also presented 2016 surveillance footage from the InterContinental Hotel showing Combs physically assaulting Ventura in a hallway.21Courthouse News Service. Jury Hears Freak Off Details to Open Diddy Sex Trafficking Trial
The defense, led by Marc Agnifilo, conceded Combs had committed domestic violence but argued the broader charges were not supported by the evidence, characterizing the sexual encounters as part of a consensual “swinger’s lifestyle.” Agnifilo also noted that no one else had been indicted as part of the alleged enterprise.22NPR. Sean Combs Defense Closing Arguments
On July 2, 2025, the jury returned a mixed verdict. Combs was found guilty on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution, one involving Ventura and one involving “Jane.” He was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and both sex trafficking counts.23PBS. Why the Jury Returned a Mixed Verdict in the Trial of Sean Diddy Combs Judge Subramanian denied bail after the verdict, citing Combs’ “propensity for violence.”24ABC 7 Chicago. Diddy Trial Verdict Live Updates
Sentence and Appeal
On October 3, 2025, Judge Subramanian sentenced Combs to 50 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine, the maximum financial penalty available. Prosecutors had asked for at least 11 years; the defense had sought no more than 14 months.2NBC News. Diddy Sentencing Live Updates25ABC News. Sean Diddy Combs Sentencing Live Updates The judge rejected the defense’s framing of Combs as merely a “john,” telling him: “You were more than that, even if your currency was satisfying your sexual desires instead of money. But the coercion was the same, if not worse.”26New York Times. Sean Combs Diddy Sentencing
Combs was transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to the federal prison at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on October 30, 2025. With credit for time served since his September 2024 arrest and potential good-behavior reductions, his expected release date is May 25, 2028.27NBC News. Sean Diddy Combs Federal Prison28NBC News. Expedited Appeal Sean Combs Calls for Overturning Conviction
His legal team, now led by appellate attorney Alexandra Shapiro, filed an expedited appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal argues that the prosecution failed to prove the interstate transportation charges and that Judge Subramanian improperly enhanced the sentence based on conduct for which the jury acquitted Combs, effectively acting “as a thirteenth juror.” The expedited schedule was granted in November 2025, with the government’s brief due by February 2026 and a reply brief due by March 2026.28NBC News. Expedited Appeal Sean Combs Calls for Overturning Conviction