Jordan Strauss/AP Images; BI
- A Manhattan federal grand jury is weighing sex-trafficking allegations against Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
- The rap mogul hired top NYC defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo to fight a possible indictment.
- Agnifilo has repped Harvey Weinstein, 'pharma bro' Martin Shkreli, and NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.
Sean "Diddy" Combs has lawyered up as a federal grand jury in Manhattan continues a months-long investigation into sex-trafficking allegations involving multiple accusers, Business Insider has learned.
The rap mogul has hired Marc Agnifilo, a veteran criminal attorney whose high-profile clients include 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli, former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, and NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere.
Agnifilo told BI that sex-trafficking allegations by R&B singer and Combs' former girlfriend Cassie Ventura were the spark for the now sprawling investigation by prosecutors for the Southern District of New York.
When Ventura's bombshell Manhattan lawsuit settled only one day after it was filed last November — for a sum assumed to be in the millions — additional Combs accusers "came out of the woodwork," Agnifilo said.
Since then, "There's been subpoenas out for months, and I don't get the sense anything is imminent," Agnifilo said of potential charges.
Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami were subjected to federal searches and the seizure of phones and computers in March as part of that probe, he said.
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Agnifilo, a former state and federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said he and co-counsel Teny Geragos are in regular communication with federal prosecutors.
"I think that the Southern District is appropriately taking its time and considering many different factors," the lawyer said.
"But we are firmly convinced that he did not violate any federal laws, and we hope we can work with prosecutors in reaching that conclusion."
Combs has not spoken with prosecutors, added Agnifilo, now at Agnifilo Intrater.
The Manhattan grand jury is the latest, and potentially most serious, legal trouble plaguing Combs as women from the rapper's past step forward with accusations of violence and coerced sex.
In May, CNN published 2016 video of Combs shoving, dragging, and kicking Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel.
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The video corroborated allegations of violence in the R&B singer's lawsuit against Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment.
"I'm disgusted," Combs said in an apology after the video went public, calling his behavior "inexcusable."
The lawsuit alleged that Combs seduced her into a "drug-fueled lifestyle" and repeatedly forced her to engage in sex with male prostitutes so that he could watch and film the encounters.
Combs has fought nine sex-assault lawsuits since November, the most recent filed in federal court in New York by porn star Adria English, who also accuses him of sexual assault and harassment.
English says that in 2004 to 2009, Combs "demanded" she engage in sex with guests at his high-profile "white parties" at his homes in New York and Florida, charges Combs denies.
Roberta Intrater/Business Insider
The last time Combs was in serious legal peril in New York was more than 20 years ago, when he and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were arrested after a shootout at a Times Square nightclub.
Combs was repped then by longtime celebrity defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, who in 2001 won the rapper a high-profile acquittal after a six-week trial on gun and bribery charges — "Uncle Benny," a grateful Combs called him at the time.
Brafman repped Combs again in the leadup to the Ventura lawsuit. Reached Wednesday, Brafman declined to comment on Combs' switch to Agnifilo, who was senior trial counsel at Brafman & Associates before the two men parted ways in March after 17 years.
"I've always viewed Ben as a mentor," Agnifilo said when asked of the split. "He fought Puffy's battle 25 years ago, and I get to fight it now."
An attorney for Ventura and a spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.