Judge Denies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Request to Overturn Prostitution Convictions

A federal judge has rejected Sean “Diddy” Combs’ motion to dismiss his prostitution-related convictions, moving the hip-hop mogul one step closer to sentencing. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, who presided over Combs’ eight-week federal trial in New York this summer, dismissed the rapper and mogul’s bid to overturn his convictions on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, offenses that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each. Combs is scheduled to be sentenced this Friday.

The verdict comes after a trial in which Sean Diddy Combs faced accusations of running a decade-spanning criminal enterprise, orchestrating “freak-off” sexual encounters involving male escorts and female participants. Prosecutors alleged that Combs transported women across state lines and internationally to participate in these encounters for his sexual gratification.

While jurors acquitted Sean Diddy Combs on one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, they found him guilty under the Mann Act, a century-old federal law prohibiting the interstate transport of individuals for “immoral purposes.”

Diddy’s defense team argued that the law did not apply to him, asserting that he did not operate a commercial enterprise and that the women involved — including ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman known as “Jane” — participated willingly. “We are talking about adults having a threesome, bringing another adult into their private sex life,” defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro told the court.

Federal prosecutors countered, emphasizing that the women were coerced and exploited, and that Sean Diddy Combs’ interstate transport of women for sexual encounters fell squarely under federal jurisdiction. “The ‘freak-offs’ were about one thing: his sexual gratification, his personal pleasure,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik argued.

In a related development, prosecutors requested that a key accuser, identified as “Mia,” be allowed to speak at Sean Diddy Combs’ sentencing. Mia, a former personal assistant, testified to experiencing physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Combs from 2009 to 2017. “The defendant’s wealth, power, and fame should not place him above the law,” she wrote in court documents, urging a sentence reflecting “the years of coercion, financial abuse, humiliation, physical and sexual violence, and profound trauma” inflicted by Combs.

Diddy’s Last Hope? How Sean Combs Might Try to Secure a Trump Pardon

Sean Diddy Combs’ lawyers strongly denied Mia’s allegations, calling her a liar and disputing the credibility of her testimony. Mia’s legal team praised her courage in speaking out, describing her as “incredibly brave to walk into a public courtroom and testify truthfully about the worst events of her life.”

With the judge rejecting Combs’ motion to overturn the convictions, attention now turns to Friday’s sentencing, which could mark a pivotal moment in the high-profile case that has drawn international scrutiny.