Even if a non-disclosure agreement could have been signed between Sean “Diddy” Combs and his accuser or anyone else around him who may have witnessed the wrongdoing; It would not prevent them from speaking with federal agents who are targeting the hip-hop mogul in a sex-trafficking investigation. says legal experts.
“They can sing like canaries because they’re untethered,” said David Gellman, a former prosecutor’s defense attorney based in New Jersey who follows the case. “They can speak out because the NDA does not cover illegal activities.”
Combs, the billionaire founder of Bad Boy Records and the Sean John fashion empire, faces several civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault, human trafficking and physical abuse, but the federal Investigators have confirmed that part of the search warrants were for his residences in Los Angeles and Miami. A sex trafficking investigation.
Sean Diddy Combs investigation: Male music producer accuses mogul of sexual assault, record label backlash
Sean “Diddy” Combs outside his Star Island mansion on March 31, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida. (back grid/mega)
New York City’s “hip-hop cop,” Derrick Parker, said the charges in a settled lawsuit brought by Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, better known as R&B singer Cassie, are potential investigators in the case. He said it could become a focus.
Parker, who wrote the book,infamous COP”, he said of his time in the NYPD’s rap intelligence unit, where he played a key role in the investigation into Combs after the 1999 nightclub shooting that left three people injured.
Singer and model Cassie Ventura and rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs arrive at a traditional Clive Davis party on the eve of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018 in New York City. . (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)
“She claimed that right before she settled with him, she had already committed some criminal acts,” Parker told FOX News Digital. “They could subpoena her for what she said and how she knew.”
Sean Diddy Combs unable to ‘make peace’ with federal authorities during sex trafficking investigation: former FBI agent
Ventura’s case, which was settled in an out-of-court settlement the day after he filed the lawsuit, is a fair fight for federal investigators, whose explosive charges offer a variety of potential leads.
“Diddy cannot use a non-disclosure agreement to prevent someone from reporting a crime or testifying under subpoena.”
Lawyers for music producer Rodney Jones included the image in their lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs. According to court filings, the photo was taken at a Thanksgiving party and shows Jones sitting next to Combs on the left. (Southern District of New York)
Sean Diddy Combs accused of sexual assault by male music producer
In it, she said Combs not only raped and physically abused her, but also blown up another man’s car, regularly hired prostitutes, and forced her to possess guns and procure drugs. He claimed that he was forced to do so.
“Last year, Congress also passed a law that makes it illegal for victims of sexual harassment or assault to enter into non-disclosure agreements to prevent them from coming forward,” said John, a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer who handled the case. said Neema Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who has been monitoring the situation. . “Civil claims are protected as well, meaning Diddy can’t do anything to silence his accusers in court.”
Homeland Security agents have been seen entering and exiting Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Florida home. (Giorgio Vieira/AFP via Getty Images)
Rapper Sean Diddy Combs’ home raided by Homeland Security
“Even if you sign a letter saying, ‘I won’t tell anyone,’ and you receive a reward, a court will probably rule it invalid if you have information about illegal activity.”
According to Ventura’s civil complaint, Combs staff and Bad Boy employees witnessed some of the alleged crimes. And even if these people had NDAs, they would be irrelevant in federal court, experts told FOX News Digital.
And in the wake of Ventura’s lawsuit, other women and men have come forward with their own charges, and legal experts say more accusers may emerge in the near future.
Sean “Diddy” Combs outside his Star Island mansion on March 30, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida. (back grid/mega)
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“I can’t think of a case where you would just start a case like this without getting a search warrant all the way through. There’s no way,” Parker said. “They’re not going to say, ‘Okay, just forget about it and be free. I’m not going to bother you anymore.'” That doesn’t work. ”
Police and Homeland Security personnel stand at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ beachfront mansion during a raid on both coasts in Miami Beach, Florida, March 25, 2024. (MEGA/GC image)
A separate lawsuit on behalf of Jane Doe alleges that an unnamed “third assailant,” a longtime Bad Boy executive, was the one who flew her from Detroit to New York City on a private jet to meet Combs. When she was 17 years old, she claims he then drugged her and, in turn, sexually assaulted her. she.
Flight records could serve as evidence in this case. So too did witnesses who encountered the entourage that night, including an anonymous recording artist and her parents who were at a Big Apple music studio when her traffickers allegedly took her inside. The newspaper reports that there is a possibility. Lawsuit.
Diddy performs at the MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, New Jersey on September 12, 2023. (Johnny Nunes/Getty Images for MTV)
Despite the federal investigation, Combs has not been charged with a crime and has denied all charges of wrongdoing. He said in a previous statement that the case with Ventura had been settled on good terms and that some of the other accusers were just seeking “an underserved payday.” .
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“When the federal government gets involved, they will do whatever it takes,” Gelman said.
