Homeland Security reportedly inspected two of Sean "Diddy" Combs' properties on Monday as part of a federal investigation. Rolling Stone and Fox 11 reported that federal agents raided Combs' Los Angeles home Monday amid lawsuits claiming rape and sexual assault. Rolling Stone, NBC News, and The Associated Press claimed agents searched Combs' Miami home Monday.
A Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson told USA TODAY Monday that "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. Information will be updated as it becomes available."
The questions were similarly ignored by Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office main spokesperson Nicholas Biase. Investigation is led by Southern District of New York Justice Department prosecutors.
Fox 11 showed helicopter footage of police at Combs' LA home. Armed agents loiter outside the West LA Holmby Hills mansion in videos. Video footage shows LAPD trucks and cops cordoning off the residential street. The searches are part of a New York sex trafficking probe, according to the. Investigators have interrogated several persons about Combs' sex trafficking, sexual assault, and other allegations.
In recent months, various lawsuits have accused Bad Boy Records founder of raping or sexually assaulting several people over the past few decades. The producer of Combs' latest album, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," sued him in February for "engaging in serious illegal activity" including sexual assault.
In December, an anonymous accuser sued Combs and his friends for raping her at 17. The month before, Joi Dickerson-Neal sued Combs for drugging, sexually assaulting, and abusing her and using "revenge porn."
His ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking, and physical abuse days earlier. A day later, Combs and Cassie settled for an unknown amount. Dickerson-Neal and Ventura filed their complaints before New York's Adult Survivors Act deadline. Sexual abuse victims had one year to file claims before time constraints expired.
After the search warrant on Combs was reported, Cassie Ventura and Jane Doe lawyer Douglas Wigdor released a statement Monday afternoon.
We will always support law enforcement in prosecuting lawbreakers "Wigdor remarked. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct." Combs' accusers' attorney Tyrone Blackburn told Rolling Stone, “It's about damn time. While justice may be delayed, it will eventually arrive."
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