5 things to know about music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking racketeering trial

Sean "Diddy" Combs, who built a multimillion-dollar global music, fashion and liquor conglomerate, stands charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transporting male escorts for purposes of prostitution.

Prosecutors say he tapped his "inner circle" of personal assistants, his chief of staff and his security personnel to further a criminal conspiracy to force women to have sex with male prostitutes under the threat of blackmail and violence.

Combs, who rose to fame in the 1990s producing artists such as Nortorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and TLC, among others, had dayslong, drug-fueled sex sessions — or "freak-offs" — with his girlfriends and multiple male escorts in expensive hotel suites from 2004 to 2024.

The investigations into Combs began after his girlfriend from 2004 to 2018, Casandra Ventura, sued him for sex trafficking and sexual assault. Ventura, a former pop singer, settled the case for $20 million. She also sued the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles for its role in covering up a 2016 assault by Combs that was caught on surveillance video in the hotel hallway, settling for $10 million. Another woman, who testified under the pseudonym "Jane," said she was also forced to have sex with strangers in hotel rooms from 2021 to 2024.

The jury consists of four women and eight men, several of whom are Black and persons of color. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, the first South Asian judge to sit on the bench in Manhattan federal court, read the jury instructions Monday morning and the panel began deliberations before noon.

Former girlfriends take the stand

Ventura and "Jane" testified that they found the interludes exciting at first, but eventually they felt that Combs was only using them for sex. When they resisted being involved, Combs threatened to cut off financial support, break up with them or at times became violent, striking and kicking the women.

Threatened with violence

Two former executive assistants, Capricorn Clark and "Mia," who also testified under a pseudonym, told the jury they had been threatened with death or violence by Combs’ security staff. Mia said she had been sexually assaulted at least twice by the Bad Boy Records founder. Both women said they worked grueling hours for which they were not paid.

Defense says sex was consensual

Defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos have characterized the case as an example of government overreach, telling the jury the women consented to the sex and that they stand to gain financially from their testimonies. Agnifilo said his client lives a "swinger" lifestyle. Jane testified that she thought the behavior was a way for Combs to act out his bisexuality.

To reach a guilty verdict

To find Combs guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the jury must find that he committed two crimes that supported the criminal enterprise, including arson, kidnapping, forced labor, sex trafficking, witness tampering and transporting male prostitutes across state lines. He’s also charged with two counts of sex trafficking of Ventura and Jane and two counts of transporting prostitutes, independent of the racketeering conspiracy.

What Combs could face if convicted

He faces life in prison for the racketeering charge. If found guilty of one of the sex trafficking charges, Combs could serve a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. If convicted of the transportation charges, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years behind bars.