The US government has launched a high-profile sex trafficking and racketeering case against music mogul Sean Combs, aka Diddy, accusing him of orchestrating coercive and abusive sexual encounters at luxury hotels. The indictment, which includes accusations of arson, bribery, kidnapping and obstruction of justice, centres on what prosecutors refer to as “freak-offs” – “elaborate and produced sex performances,” involving drugs, prostitutes, and recordings – according to a report in the New York Times. Combs’ legal team, however, insists these encounters were consensual.

According to the 14-page federal criminal indictment, these “freak-offs” were organised by Combs and his associates in hotel suites filled with baby oil, drugs and video equipment. Prosecutors allege that participants were coerced, with some requiring intravenous fluids to recover from the multi-day ordeals. The government claims Combs filmed the sessions and used the footage to blackmail participants into silence.

“Freak-off activity is the core of this case, and freak-offs are inherently dangerous,” said Emily A Johnson, one of the prosecutors. This depiction is echoed in the civil lawsuit filed by singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, against Combs last year. Cassie claimed that Combs directed frequent freak-offs, where she was coerced into performing sexual acts, which he filmed.

Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a vastly different narrative presented by his defence team. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, argued the events were consensual, part of an unconventional but voluntary relationship between Combs and Ventura. Agnifilo pointed out that several men involved denied being coerced or viewing themselves as sex workers.

The racketeering charges stem from allegations that Combs coordinated these events through a network of enablers who managed logistics such as securing prostitutes, booking hotel rooms, and cleaning up after the sessions. Prosecutors argue that violence often accompanied these encounters, a claim the defence denies.

In addition to Ventura’s lawsuit, Combs faces a series of other civil suits from women who accuse him of drug-fuelled sexual abuse. One complainant, Adria English, alleged that Combs demanded she has sex with guests at his famous “white parties.” 

Combs’s lawyers have dismissed the lawsuits as opportunistic.

Combs, who remains in federal custody after being denied bail, is accused of attempting to cover up evidence of the abuse. Prosecutors claim he offered hotel staff bribes and attempted to destroy surveillance footage after an alleged assault on Ventura in 2016.The investigation is underway, and Combs’s legal battle is far from over. 

The allegations against Combs go back to the 1990s when he founded Bad Boy Records, his label, according to Forbes. In 2022, he was in the 14the spot among Forbes’ list of the highest-paid entertainers after he made an estimated $90 million that year.