Federal prosecutors allege Sean “Diddy” Combs forced an employee to engage in sex acts and threatened others with physical force and financial harm if they did not help him carry out a sex trafficking scheme that lasted two decades, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Thursday.
The additional allegations were included as new details in the racketeering conspiracy charge Combs is already facing.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The amended federal indictment from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York does not include any new charges against Combs, who is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is scheduled to go to trial in May.
Prosecutors have accused Combs and others of coercing at least three women to engage in sex acts with him and, at times, with male prostitutes. The occasions where prosecutors say the women were often drugged and forced to engage in sex for days were known as “Freak Offs.”
Authorities allege Combs recorded some of the sex acts and controlled his victims by promising financial and career opportunities, as well as through threats of violence and other harm.
Prosecutors say Combs forced his employees to work long hours, often with little sleep. The employees, prosecutors allege, believed they could lose their jobs “if they did not comply with his demands” and faced additional threats of physical violence and reputational damage, according to the indictment.
“With respect to one employee, Combs used physical force, psychological harm, financial harm, and reputational harm, and/or threats of the same to cause the employee to engage in sex acts with Combs,” the indictment states.
In a statement to CNN, Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said his client “vehemently denies the accusations made by the SDNY.”
“He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will,” the statement said. “Many former employees stand by his side, prepared to attest to the dedication, hard work, and inspiration they experienced while helping build groundbreaking, award-winning businesses.”
Combs is fighting to get the prostitution charge dismissed and has asked the judge to suppress evidence collected during the search of his homes, hotel room, and electronic devices.
Prosecutors have said they have recordings of Freak Offs and found three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers during a search, as well as more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
