120 people are planning to launch lawsuits against Sean 'Diddy' Combs alleging that the music mogul sexually abused and exploited them.
The new lawsuits come at the heels of Combs' arrest in September where an unsealed indictment revealed that he had been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Announced on Tuesday (October 1) in Houston, the attorney for the new accusers, Tony Buzbee, shared that he is representing men and women who accuse Combs of sexual abuse and exploitation with some cases reportedly dating as far back as 1991. He added that most of the cases are expected to be filed in New York and Los Angeles.
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Moreover, Buzbee also shared that some of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged abuse, with one allegedly only being nine years old at the time of the incident.
"This is an important matter that we intend to aggressively pursue," Buzbee said at a news conference per The Los Angeles Times. "We will leave no stone unturned to find all potentially liable parties, to include any individual or entity who participated in or benefited from this egregious behavior."
Buzbee's statement indicates that any companies or individuals who were aware of Combs' alleged misconduct will be named in the upcoming litigation. His sentiment echoes one made by prosecutors in September who alleged that Combs 'did not do this all on his own' and likely had a network of accomplices.
"Combs did not do this all on his own," US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said while announcing the charges. "He used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way."
In response to the new lawsuits from the 120 accusers, Combs' attorney Erica Wolff told UNILAD: "As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.
"That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors.
"He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation."
Combs has pleaded not guilty and has been in federal custody since his arrest on September 16 after being denied bail by a judge.
At the time of his arrest in September, Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo told UNILAD: "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.
"Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.
"To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.
"These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: Diddy
Yasmeen Hamadeh