Before Sean “Diddy” Combs' properties were raided by federal agents this week, the rapper was already facing several sexual assault allegations.
The 54-year-old music mogul has been accused of abuse, rape, sex trafficking and other disturbing acts in five separate sexual assault lawsuits filed since November 2023. He's denied all of the allegations.
On Monday, Combs' properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal agents.
"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," a Homeland Security Investigations representative said in a statement to PEOPLE.
Here are the biggest bombshells from Combs' sexual assault lawsuits.
November 16, 2023: Cassie Alleges Rape, Sex Trafficking and Domestic Violence; Lawsuit Settled
In November 2023, Cassie (whose full name is Casandra Ventura) filed a lawsuit against Combs, her former boyfriend, alleging that the music mogul raped and sex trafficked her over the course of an abusive 10 years.
According to a complaint filed in New York, the "Me & U" singer claimed she was stuck in a decade-long “cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking” that included a 2018 rape after she tried to leave him, and multiple instances of domestic violence.
The complaint, obtained by PEOPLE, said Ventura — who began working with Combs in 2006, one year after they met — started dating the rapper in September 2007 due to fear of retaliation should she deny him. (She had a boyfriend at the time, and he was publicly dating Kim Porter.)
Ventura alleged Combs gave her “copious amounts of drugs," exhibited “uncontrollable rage” often and “frequently beat Ms. Ventura savagely,” violence she claimed was witnessed by many of his employees.
Following instances of violence, per the complaint, Combs would often hide Ventura in “hotels for days at a time to let her bruises heal” as a means of covering up the attacks, such as a 2009 encounter in which he allegedly stomped on her face.
She also alleged that Combs often forced her to partake in forced encounters with sex workers that he called “freak offs,” or “FOs," which “always” included ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana and alcohol, according to the complaint.
Manipulation allegedly played a major role in the abuse. After Ventura entered a brief relationship with the rapper Kid Cudi in 2011, per the complaint, Combs found their emails and “hit her several times, and then kicked her in the back as she tried to run out the door.”
One year later, Combs allegedly told Ventura he was going to blow up Kid Cudi’s car — and the star’s car exploded in his driveway around the same time.
After Ventura attempted to discuss leaving Combs at a September 2018 dinner with the rapper in Malibu, per the complaint, he allegedly forced his way into her home and raped her.
Combs’ lawyer Ben Brafman denied the allegations, which he called “offensive and outrageous" in a statement to PEOPLE at the time.
One day later, Combs and Ventura announced they resolved the claims in the lawsuit to their "mutual satisfaction.” The parties added that there will be no further details publicly released about the terms of the agreement.
November 23, 2023: Joi Dickerson-Neal Alleges Rape, Drugging and Revenge Porn; Lawsuit Ongoing
Less than a week after settling his lawsuit with Cassie, Combs was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court.
According to the court documents obtained by PEOPLE, a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal accused Combs of drugging and raping her when she was a college student at Syracuse University in 1991. Dickerson-Neal's attorneys claimed she was the victim of “revenge porn” after the music mogul allegedly recorded the incident and shared the tape with others in the music industry.
After meeting Combs through mutual friends and appearing in one of his music videos, Dickerson-Neal claimed she “reluctantly” agreed to a date with the rapper despite already having heard about his alleged “mistreatment of women," said her lawyer Jonathan Goldhirsch in a press release.
Dickerson-Neal alleged that she left her drink at the table with Combs during the dinner and soon “couldn't independently stand or walk.”
“Days later, a male friend revealed to her that he had viewed the ‘sex tape’ along with other men,” the documents alleged. Dickerson-Neal claimed the alleged assault caused a decline in her mental health, causing her to leave college and never receive her degree.
At the time of the filing, which occurred as the New York State Adult Survivors Act window was about to close, Combs denied the allegations, claiming Dickerson-Neal fabricated the story.
“This last-minute lawsuit is an example of how a well-intentioned law can be turned on its head. Ms. Dickerson's 32-year-old story is made up and not credible. Mr. Combs never assaulted her, and she implicates companies that did not exist. This is purely a money grab and nothing more," a spokesperson for the rapper wrote in a statement to PEOPLE.
November 23, 2023: Liza Gardner Alleges Rape; Lawsuit Ongoing
The same day Dickerson-Neal's lawsuit was filed, a third lawsuit was filed against Combs in New York County Supreme Court by a Jane Doe, since revealed to be Liza Gardner.
In the lawsuit, obtained by PEOPLE, Gardner alleged that Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns raping her and a friend in New York City more than 30 years ago.
Gardner alleged she met the men at an event hosted by Uptown Records distributor MCA Records at the company’s offices. “Combs and Hall were very flirtatious and handsy with Jane Doe and her friend, offering them drinks throughout the night,” the lawsuit stated.
Later at Hall’s apartment, Gardner alleged she "was coerced into having sex with Combs," after which she "laid in bed, shocked and traumatized," per the lawsuit. “As she was in the process of getting dressed, Hall barged into the room, pinned her down and forced Jane Doe to have sex with him.”
According to the lawsuit, the other woman “had been forced to have sex with Combs and Hall in another room.”
Combs allegedly became violent days after the assault, with Gardner claiming he choked her "to the point that she passed out," per the complaint.
A spokesperson for Combs denied the allegations in a statement to PEOPLE at the time. “These are fabricated claims falsely alleging misconduct from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute. This is nothing but a money grab. Because of Mr. Combs’ fame and success, he is an easy target for anonymous accusers who lie without conscience or consequence for financial benefit," they wrote.
The spokesperson added, "The New York Legislature surely did not intend or expect the Adult Survivors Act to be exploited by scammers. The public should be skeptical and not rush to accept these bogus allegations."
December 6, 2023: Jane Doe Alleges Sex Trafficking and Gang Rape; Lawsuit Ongoing
In a lawsuit filed in December in New York, a woman under the name Jane Doe accused Combs as well as former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre and a third individual labelled as "Third Assailant" of sex trafficking and gang rape when she was 17 years old.
In the filing obtained by PEOPLE, Jane Doe claimed that Pierre approached her at a lounge in Michigan and convinced her to take a private jet with him and Third Assailant to Combs' recording studio in New York City.
Once she arrived, she alleged she was given drugs and alcohol before being "viciously gang raped" "one after the other," the lawsuit claimed.
“As alleged in the complaint, Defendants preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs’ studio," Jane Doe's lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor said in a statement. "The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life."
At the time, Combs denied the allegations in a statement to PEOPLE.
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy," he said.
The mogul added, "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. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."
February 26, 2024: Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones Alleges Sexual Harassment and Drugging; Lawsuit Ongoing
Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, a former producer and videographer for Combs, filed a lawsuit in New York federal court alleging that for more than a year, the Bad Boy Records founder sexually harassed, drugged and threatened him.
According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jones produced nine songs on Combs' recent Love album from September 2022 to November 2023, lived with him in various U.S. cities and would vacation to other countries with him.
During that time, Jones claimed he “witnessed, experienced, and endured many things that went far beyond his role as a producer on the Love album.”
Combs’ adult son, Justin; his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge; and former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Jones claimed he was “required” to “constantly” film Combs and in turn "secured HUNDREDS of hours of footage and audio recordings of Mr. Combs, his staff, and his guests engaging in serious illegal activity," per the court document.
While living together, Jones allegedly "was the victim of constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus by Mr. Combs," according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that Combs showed him a video of Stevie J having anal intercourse with a man as a way to solicit him.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, per Jones lawsuit, the female cousin of Combs’ girlfriend at the time, Yung Miami, allegedly sexually assaulted him as well “in the presence of Mr. Combs and his staff.”
Jones alleged that Combs brought prostitutes into his Miami house and said on one occasion he was drugged and possibly raped. Additionally, Jones claimed to have footage of “Mr. Combs providing laced alcoholic beverages to minors and sex workers at his homes in California, New York, the U. S. Virgin Islands, and Florida.”
Combs' lawyer, Shawn Holley, denied the allegations in a statement to PEOPLE at the time. “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday. His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines," he wrote.
"We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them," continued the lawyer.
A rep for Justin Combs told TMZ, "Justin Combs categorically denies these absurd allegations. They are all lies! This is a clear example of a desperate person taking desperate measures in hopes of a payday. There will be legal consequences for ALL defamatory statements made about the Combs family."
Source: people.com