NEW YORK (BN24) — Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs ran a criminal enterprise built on “violence and fear” that enabled him to traffic women for sex, a federal prosecutor told jurors Thursday in a forceful closing argument at the end of the high-profile trial.
Combs, the 54-year-old founder of Bad Boy Records and once a billionaire at the helm of hip-hop’s commercial rise, has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and interstate transportation for prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could be sentenced to life.
Over the course of six weeks in Manhattan federal court, jurors heard graphic testimony from two women—R&B singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and another woman identified only by the pseudonym “Jane”—who described being forced into “Freak Offs,” Combs’ term for drug-fueled sex parties involving male sex workers. Jurors viewed surveillance footage of Combs beating Ventura in a hotel hallway, and heard from his employees who detailed arranging hotel rooms and supplying drugs for the events.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told the jury. “He thought his fame, his money, and his power placed him above the law.”
Combs, who did not testify in his defense, has remained in federal custody at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September 2024. Deliberations are expected to begin late Friday or Monday.
Coercion and Consent at the Heart of the Case
Central to the prosecution’s case is whether the women willingly participated in the “Freak Offs” or were coerced through intimidation, manipulation, and threats. Both Ventura and Jane testified that they feared losing financial support or being publicly humiliated if they refused to comply.
Slavik directed jurors to text messages introduced during the trial in which Jane expressed fear that Combs would stop paying her rent if she did not continue performing. “It doesn’t require them to say no,” Slavik said of the coercion standard. “It doesn’t require them to try to run away.”
Combs’ defense team is expected to deliver its closing argument Friday. While his attorneys have conceded that he engaged in some violent behavior in domestic relationships, they argued the sex acts were consensual and not part of any criminal enterprise. They claim the women never expressed non-consent and participated because they loved Combs and wanted to please him.
Defense lawyers also argued that Combs’ employees, whom the prosecution accuses of facilitating and concealing the abuse, were not aware of any illegal activity and only procured drugs for Combs’ personal use—not in furtherance of trafficking.
Jury Will Decide Between Two Starkly Different Narratives
Combs’ legal team has sought to discredit the racketeering charge by portraying his associates not as co-conspirators but as unwitting employees, unaware of any abuse or coercion. The prosecution, however, maintains the mogul’s inner circle enabled a pattern of criminal behavior stretching back years.
“This case is not just about what happened behind closed doors,” Slavik said. “It’s about how he used his resources and entourage to perpetuate and protect that behavior.”
Legal experts say the jury’s decision will hinge on which account they find more credible: the prosecution’s depiction of calculated coercion and abuse, or the defense’s portrayal of flawed but consensual relationships.
“The question is which narrative is going to hold more weight,” said Heather Cucolo, a professor at New York Law School. “Jurors must be unanimous in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and both sides have presented compelling, if competing, versions of events.”
