Two of Sean "Diddy" Combs' homes were reportedly searched by U.S. Homeland Security on Monday as part of a federal investigation.
Federal officials raided Combs' Los Angeles home Monday, according to Rolling Stone and local Los Angeles news station Fox 11, amid lawsuits filed against him from accusers alleging the rapper and music mogul has raped or sexually assaulted them. Agents also searched Combs' Miami residence Monday, Rolling Stone, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.
It's unknown whether the rapper himself was present during the raids.
When reached for comment regarding a case on Combs, a Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY Monday that "Homeland Security Investigations (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. We will provide further information as it becomes available."
Nicholas Biase, chief spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, also declined to comment in response to questions from USA TODAY. Justice Department prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are leading the investigation, according to the New York Times.
Fox 11 aired helicopter footage of law enforcement on the grounds of what is purportedly Combs' LA residence. In videos, armed agents are seen outside and roaming around the Holmby Hills mansion in West LA. Los Angeles Police Department vehicles and officers appear to have cordoned off the residential street to onlookers, per video footage.
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Combs for comment.
Per NBC News, the Los Angeles Times and the AP, the searches are part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation in New York. Several people have been interviewed by investigators about allegations against Combs regarding sex trafficking, sexual assault and other alleged offenses, according to NBC News and the AP.
The Bad Boy Records founder is facing multiple lawsuits filed in recent months claiming the music mogul raped or sexually assaulted several alleged victims over the past few decades. Most recently, a music producer who worked with Combs on his most recent record, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," sued him in February, accusing him of "engaging in serious illegal activity" including sexual assault.
An anonymous accuser filed a lawsuit in December alleging Combs and his associates raped her when she was 17 years old. The previous month, a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging she was drugged, sexually assaulted and abused, and was the victim of "revenge porn."
Several days before this, his ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie Ventura, accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. Combs and Cassie settled for an undisclosed amount a day later. The lawsuits filed by Dickerson-Neal and Ventura were done so before the New York's Adult Survivors Act deadline. It gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to make claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits.
Combs has denied all accusations against him.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Cassie Ventura and Jane Doe, shared a statement Monday afternoon after reports of the search warrant on Combs emerged.
"We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law," Wigdor said. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct."
Attorney Tyrone Blackburn, who represents some of Combs’ accusers, told Rolling Stone, “It’s about damn time. Sometimes justice delayed is not justice denied, so long as justice ultimately arrives."
Contributing: Josh Meyer
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).
