Sean “Diddy” Combs used his money, power and staff to run a violent “criminal enterprise” for two decades but that stops now, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik said in her closing argument.
“It’s time for justice. It’s time to find the defendant guilty,” Slavik told jurors during her nearly five-hour statement in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, June 26.
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Combs, 55, was once viewed as an example of what could be achieved through hard work, hustle and determination. On Thursday, he sat in court with his head down as the prosecutor detailed his alleged crimes.
“He’s the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn’t take no for an answer,” Slavik said according to the official court transcript as she revisited the six-week trial that included testimony from 34 witnesses.
Alleged Victims
The prosecutor focused on two women, the music mogul’s former girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and a woman using the pseudonym “Jane Doe.” She said both women were groomed, abused and trafficked.
Slavik told jurors Combs first love bombed the women, then lured them into extended “freak off” sex sessions with male escorts to fulfill his own desires.
“Let’s start with the love bombing stage. Jane was head over heels. They traveled to the Caribbean,” the prosecutor said. “Love bombing is a tactic. He was grooming her.”
She reminded jurors that Jane was excited by the first “freak off” or “hotel night.”
“She didn’t realize she had opened Pandora’s box. It became 90 percent of their relationship. For a while, she went along. Then she told him she wanted it to stop,” Slavik said.
She read messages from Jane to Combs, saying she wanted to spend time with just the two of them.
“In 2023 he made Jane feel she’d have a proper NYC weekend,” Slavik said. “He lied.”
The prosecutor said at the same time Combs was texting Jane, he was communicating with a male escort named Paul Arthur and setting up a freak off.
“Before the plane even lands, is a completed act of sex trafficking. He tricked her,” Slavik stated.
2016 Hotel Beating
The prosecutor referenced the 2016 incident at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, where Combs was recorded on surveillance video physically attacking Cassie and dragging her down a hallway.
Former hotel security guard Eddy Garcia testified that the mogul paid him $100,000 in cash for the footage.
“Then there’s bribery, the 2016 video,” Slavik said. “Paying for silence is influencing testimony. In their opening the defense suggested it was just about bad publicity. Police involvement would hurt him.”
During his testimony, Garcia said he met with Combs in a high rise and the mogul used a money counter to make sure the amount was correct.
“The defendant counted out dollar by dollar the bribe,” Slavik told the jury.
The mogul didn’t know another security staffer had secretly recorded a copy of the footage with his phone. Years later it was broadcast on CNN.
Kidnapping Allegations
Slavik revisited multiple kidnappings, including a 2009 incident where Combs allegedly stomped on Cassie’s face on the floor of an SUV, then had her confined to a hotel room until her injuries healed.
The prosecutor also brought up the mogul’s former assistant Capricorn Clark, who said she was held against her will twice — once in a “dilapidated” building in New York for five days, where she was repeatedly given a polygraph about missing jewelry.
The second incident happened in December 2011. Clark alleged Combs showed up at her home in Los Angeles with a gun and forced her into an SUV while he looked for rapper Kid Cudi, who was dating Cassie.
“The defendant banged on Capricorn’s door, with a gun. He was out for revenge. He barked an order at Capricorn: Get dressed, we’re going to kill Cudi,” Slavik said. “They drove to Kid Cudi’s house, the defendant had a gun in his lap. This was kidnapping, he moved her a substantial distance.”
The kidnapping allegations are listed under RICO — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Alleged Enterprise
Slavik said the Bad Boy Records founder expected his employees to commit crimes, including buying him drugs.
She repeatedly mentioned his former chief of staff Kristina “KK” Khorram, and his bodyguards D-Roc and Roger Bonds.
“There was an inner circle: his chief of staff and his bodyguards. The names changed, but the roles remained the same. You’ve heard about KK, Combs’ ‘right brain,'” Slavik told jurors. “His security, you heard their names: D-Roc, Bonds, Rube, Uncle Paulie, Faheem.”
“Brendan Paul said he made $100,000 a year. KK made six times that. When your boss asks you to buy drugs, you’re committing a crime. When you kidnap someone, or locked his girlfriend in a hotel room after your boss stomped on her face, it’s a crime,” Slavik said.
“Jane told KK she was having a bad comedown. KK gives pro tips how to deal with it. Plain and simple, this is drug distribution. How about kidnappings? They committed them under both California and NY law,” she added.
The prosecutor alleged the employees were all part of the criminal enterprise and Combs called the shots.
“He was the boss,” she said.
Combs faces five charges: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The defense is expected to begin closing arguments on Friday, June 27.
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