REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
- Sean "Diddy" Combs' Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided, according to multiple reports.
- The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it had executed "law enforcement actions" on Monday.
- Combs is facing multiple sexual assault accusations and lawsuits.
Federal officials on Monday raided the Los Angeles and Miami homes belonging to Sean "Diddy" Combs, according to multiple reports.
In a statement to Business Insider, Homeland Security Investigations confirmed that it had "executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners."
Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.
The DHS spokesperson did not confirm to BI why the agency was raiding the homes or who the target of the raids was; however, reports from the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times citing law enforcement sources indicated the search was part of a sex-trafficking investigation.
The DHS handles an array of criminal investigations, including those related to terrorism, national security threats, child exploitation, and human trafficking.
REUTERS/Carlin Stiehl
The rapper and producer is facing multiple lawsuits from people who have accused him of sexual assault. He has denied the allegations.
Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura accused him of raping and abusing her during their decadelong relationship in a lawsuit filed on November 17.
Ventura settled with Combs a day after filing her lawsuit.
"We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law," a lawyer for Ventura told Business Insider in response to the news about the raid. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct."
Combs was once worth close to $1 billion, per Forbes' 2022 list of the highest-paid entertainers, due to his music career and multiple business ventures. However, Since Ventura came forward, Combs has stepped down as chairman of the cable television network Revolt. Multiple brands have also severed ties with Empower Global, Combs' marketplace for Black-owned businesses, and a Hulu series based on his family has been canceled.
REUTERS/Carlin Stiehl
A week after Ventura came forward with her allegations and the day before the expiration of the extended accusation period for sexual abuse lawsuits to be filed that was granted under New York's Adult Survivors Act, two additional women accused Combs of sexual abuse in separate civil suits.
Joi Dickerson-Neal, one of the accusers, said in her lawsuit filed November 23, 2023, that after the pair went on a date in 1991, Combs drugged her, sexually assaulted her, and videotaped the incident, Business Insider previously reported. A spokesperson for Combs said at the time that the allegations were "purely a money grab and nothing more."
An attorney for Dickerson-Neal did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The other accuser, who filed suit on November 23, 2023, as a Jane Doe to protect her identity, alleged that Combs, along with another man, sexually assaulted her and a friend after an event in the early 1990s, per AP. The outlet reported a spokesperson for Combs said he denied the allegations.
A fourth woman came forward in early December with accusations that Combs had "sex trafficked and gang raped" her in 2003 when she was 17, Business Insider previously reported.
In an Instagram post after the fourth woman came forward, he said that he "did not do any of the awful things being alleged" and pledged to "fight for my name, my family, and for the truth."
Most recently, producer Rodney Jones Jr., who collaborated with Combs on the album "The Love Album: Off the Grid," filed suit against Combs in late February, Business Insider previously reported, alleging Combs forced him to "solicit sex workers and perform sex acts to the pleasure of Mr. Combs."
Tyrone Blackburn, Jones' attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Update: March 25, 2024 — This story has been updated with additional details and context following the breaking news of the DHS raid on Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami.