*The federal showdown between Sean “Diddy” Combs and the U.S. government is unfolding daily in a Manhattan courtroom. Jury selection concluded on May 5, and prosecutors wasted no time outlining a sweeping racketeering case that portrays the 55‑year‑old mogul as the architect of a sex‑trafficking network masked by hip‑hop stardom and high‑end business ventures.
Combs faces five felony counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking through fraud or coercion, transportation with intent to engage in prostitution, and conspiracy to commit those acts. A conviction could lead to life behind bars, yet the bigger immediate threat may be financial, USA Today reports.
The indictment’s forfeiture notice seeks virtually every asset tied to what prosecutors call the “Combs Business,” a web that includes spirits brands, fashion labels, Bad Boy Records, and a cable channel. Defense lawyers say the charges are “baseless money grabs,” and Combs has pleaded not guilty. To blunt the forfeiture push, the legal team hired former DOJ forfeiture chief Stefan Cassella, who warns that under RICO, “RICO forfeiture is intended to be very broad, and so it has significant consequences.”
Former DOJ gang‑unit head James Trusty echoes that view: “They’ve written a very broadly worded forfeiture allegation,” he told USA TODAY, predicting the defense will seek a “bill of particulars” to narrow the government’s sights.
Prosecutors allege that from 2008 onward, Combs and unnamed coconspirators orchestrated invitation‑only “Freak Offs,” supplying drugs and coercing women into sex, sometimes filming the encounters. Evidence includes digital files recovered during Homeland Security raids on Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami estates in 2024.
The potential forfeiture list reads like a luxury catalog: a 17,000‑square‑foot Holmby Hills mansion once valued at $61 million, a $48 million Star Island compound in Miami, a Toluca Lake residence, and the LoveAir Gulfstream G550 jet. Music rights from Bad Boy’s classic catalog and pieces from Combs’ contemporary‑art collection, including a Kerry James Marshall painting bought for $21.1 million, also sit in prosecutors’ crosshairs.
If jurors return a guilty verdict, they will reconvene to decide which holdings facilitated the alleged enterprise. Any seized proceeds could reimburse out‑of‑pocket losses for victims, though dozens of civil suits will likely seek larger damages.
As testimony continues, the trial poses a dual jeopardy: prison for the man who rebranded himself “Combs Global” and dismantlement of the multinational empire he spent three decades building.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Misa Hylton Uses Walker to Support Son at Diddy’s Trial as Daughters Exit Courtroom During Escort’s Graphic Testimony
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
The post Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ RICO Trial Threatens His $400 Million Empire appeared first on EURweb.
