Federal agents searched two properties owned by rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs as part of a sex trafficking investigation, authorities told police. Associated Press.
Federal Homeland Security Investigators and other law enforcement officials searched homes in Los Angeles and Miami on Monday.
It’s unclear whether Combs is a target of the investigation, which is being conducted by federal authorities in New York.
The officials were not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement that it “conducted law enforcement operations as part of an ongoing investigation with the assistance of HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Messages seeking comment from Combs’ attorney and other representatives were not immediately returned.
A cordon was set up around the Los Angeles home in the affluent Holmby Hills neighborhood near Beverly Hills.
KABC-TV helicopter video showed a group of agents wearing vests gathered in the backyard of the home near the pool, indicating they were from Homeland Security Investigations. A command post was set up outside the home and agents were still coming in and out hours after the search began.
Several sexual assault lawsuits have been filed against Combs in recent months.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of forcing him to hire prostitutes and forcing him to have sex with them. Combs’ attorney, Sean Hawley, said of the allegations, “We have overwhelming, indisputable evidence that his claims are complete lies.”
Combs’ former protégé and girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, sued him in November, alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape. The lawsuit alleges he forced her to have sex with a male prostitute while filming her. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed.
Another of Combs’ accusers is a woman who says the rap producer raped her 20 years ago when she was 17.
“I did not do any of the horrific things that I have been accused of,” Combs said in a December statement.
“Hopefully this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs accountable for his depraved behavior,” Douglas Wigdor, an attorney representing Casey and another woman who is suing Combs, said Monday.
It was unclear whether the search was related to any of the allegations made in the lawsuit.
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