Sean 'Diddy' Combs Arrested In NY, Prosecutor Says

NEW YORK — Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested Monday night in Manhattan following a grand jury indictment, prosecutors announced, marking the latest in a string of legal troubles for the embattled rapper who has faced allegations of sex trafficking, a federal probe and sexual assault lawsuits on both coasts.

"Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the (Southern District of New York)," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Monday in a prepared statement. "We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time."

Combs' lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, told The New York Times he believed the charges would include racketeering and sex trafficking.

"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office," Agnifilo said in a prepared statement.

Combs went to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought, according to Agnifilo.

"He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal," Agnifilo said.

Combs was arrested in a Manhattan hotel lobby and is in federal custody, said a person familiar with the arrest who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The federal probe of Combs was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25. This month Combs reportedly listed his mansion in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles for $61.5 million.

Combs' defense attorney, Aaron Dyer, the day after the raids called them "a gross use of military-level force," said the allegations were "meritless," and said Combs was "innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.

Since then, a video surfaced and aired on CNN in May, showing Combs, clad in nothing but a towel, punching, kicking and chasing his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, down a hallway at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles. The video, dated March 5, 2016, also showed Combs dragging Ventura and throwing a vase at her.

The attack closely resembled a description of an incident at the hotel in a November lawsuit filed by Ventura that alleged years of sexual abuse and other violence from Combs. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed but spurred intense scrutiny of Combs.

The rapper had issued a statement vehemently denying the lawsuit's allegations, suggesting Ventura was looking for a "payday" until the video surfaced.

The following day, in his first real acknowledgement of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began, Combs posted a social media video apologizing, saying "I was disgusted when I did it" and "I'm disgusted now."

Ventura's lawsuit was followed by at least a half-dozen others in the ensuing months. Combs and his attorneys denied nearly all of the lawsuits' allegations.

One of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

Music producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr. filed a lawsuit earlier this year accusing Combs of groping him while the pair worked together on Combs' album "The Love Album: Off the Grid." The lawsuit also included allegations that Combs and his son engaged in a "sex-trafficking venture."

Earlier this month, Combs was ordered to pay a Michigan prison inmate $100 million in a default judgment after he was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting the man at a party in 1997, according to media reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.