Helicopter footage showed Homeland Security raid at the rapper's Beverly Hills home on Monday.
Homes owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security on Monday, as part of an "ongoing investigation."
Helicopter footage captured the raid of the rapper's Beverly Hills home, however it's unclear if Diddy -- who has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct in recent months -- was home in either city at the time of the raids.
In a statement to ET, Homeland Security Investigations shared, "Earlier today, 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.
TMZ reports that law enforcement sources said the case is being handled out of the Southern District of New York, and that it appears to be tied to sex trafficking allegations. TMZ also reported that two of the handcuffed men in the helicopter footage appear to be Diddy's sons, Justin and King Combs.
ET has reached out to Diddy's reps and attorneys.
One of the crimes under the purview of Homeland Security is sex trafficking, which Diddy was accused of by ex Cassie in her November 2023 lawsuit against the rapper, which also included Cassie's claim that Diddy raped her in 2018, near the end of their relationship.
According to legal documents obtained by ET, Cassie claimed Diddy began a pattern of control and abuse within a few years of signing her to his Bad Boy records label. She claimed Diddy's control over her included him introducing her "to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse and required her to procure illicit prescriptions to satisfy his own addictions." Among the numerous allegations made in the 35-page lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court were claims that Diddy would often punch, beat, kick and stomp on her, resulting in bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding.
The R&B singer "was held down by Mr. Combs and endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed the demands," the court documents state, in which she also claims she was "trapped" by his "cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking."
Cassie also claimed in the lawsuit that Diddy would force her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters, which the singer said Diddy referred to as a "freak off," or "FO." She further claimed Diddy "would repeatedly tell Ms. Ventura at random moments that he wanted an FO, and Ms. Ventura was eventually expected to facilitate the location and the hiring of male sex workers."
The lawsuit between the exes was settled quickly and "amicably," Diddy said in a statement to ET at the time, adding "I wish Cassie and her family all the best. Love."
"Just so we’re clear, a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing," Diddy's attorney, Ben Brafman, added in a statement to ET. "Mr. Combs' decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He is happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best."
Despite their settlement, however, Diddy faced three new lawsuits before the end of the year, in which he was accused of sexual assault, revenge porn and being involved in the "gang rape" of a 17-year-old girl.
"Enough is enough," Combs wrote on Instagram after the most recent allegations emerged. "For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy."
"Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday," he continued. "Let me absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."
On Monday, Douglas Wigdor, who represents Cassie and one of the Jane Does in the later lawsuits said in a statement in response to the Homeland Security raids, "We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct."
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