Shortly before embattled rapper and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was indicted on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, he was spotted laughing and interacting with fans and even meeting with his lawyer on a bench in Central Park.
The fallen star, 54, was photographed interacting with four fans in the middle of Manhattan on Monday night, just 30 minutes before he was arrested by police at New York's Park Hyatt hotel. TMZ reported:.
Footage shows a smiling Combs shaking hands with the group, and later, Combs and his crew are filmed mingling outside the hotel.
Prior to this, Combs and his son, Christian “King” Combs, were photographed strolling around New York and posing for photos with fans.
The incident comes just days after the music mogul was spotted sitting on a park bench next to a man in a suit. News Nation He was identified as his attorney, Mark Anifilo.
Photos show his son was also at Friday's gathering.
Combs' lawyers said the sightings came after he traveled to New York on his own accord last week in anticipation of his impending arrest on federal charges.
The indictment unsealed Tuesday accuses him of beating and abusing women for more than a decade and running a sex crime empire.
Combs is scheduled to appear before a judge in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday.
“We are disappointed in the U.S. Attorney's Office's decision to pursue this unjustified prosecution against Mr. Combs,” his lawyer said in a statement shortly after his arrest.
“He is an imperfect human being, but he is not a criminal. To his credit, Mr. Combs has cooperated fully with this investigation and voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of the charges.”
Combs' arrest comes about six months after federal agents searched his homes in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking investigation.
He has been hit with numerous lawsuits over the past year from people who claim they physically and sexually abused him during his rise to fame as a producer in the 1990s and 2000s.
The star was first accused of years of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking in a federal lawsuit filed in November by his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura.
Combs has strongly denied the allegations against him.
