Last fall, stars assembled in London at the over-the-top clubstaurant Lavo to celebrate one of their own. Janet Jackson smiled in a velvet booth with Idris Elba. The supermodel Naomi Campbell, the evening's host, posed in a black dress.

At the center of it all was Sean "Diddy" Combs in a leather jacket and Cartier sunglasses cutting into a bright red cake featuring artwork from his latest release. It was the mogul's 54th birthday party, as well as a celebration of his "The Love Album." As far as partygoers and paparazzi could tell, he was on top of the world.

Since his rise to fame in the late 1990s as a rapper and producer, Combs had built a business empire and become one of the richest and most well-connected entertainers of all time.

Behind the scenes that November, though, Combs' life was about to start crumbling. Negotiations were failing between Combs and the R&B singer Cassie Ventura, his ex who was on the brink of going public with details of their relationship.

Exactly one week after his star-studded party, the tensions bubbling under the surface boiled over when Ventura sued Combs. The lawsuit alleged a cycle of physical abuse, as well as rape by Combs, who Ventura also said forced her to have sex with sex workers.

Combs' lawyers alleged that her lawyers tried to extort $30 million in exchange for stopping a tell-all book about their 10-year relationship last year.

He eventually apologized to Ventura after CNN released surveillance footage of him physically abusing her at a hotel in 2016. He settled the lawsuit and, at the time, denied any wrongdoing — a stance he has maintained amid a flurry of subsequent allegations — but it marked the beginning of a year that turned his world upside down.

Over the next 12 months, Combs went from being one of the richest music moguls in history, known for his wide network in the entertainment industry and business savvy, to being behind bars, facing a criminal indictment, dozens of civil lawsuits, and an empire in decline.

Combs' freedom, reputation, and finances are all in jeopardy. If he's found guilty of criminal charges, it would mean one of the most celebrated entertainers is also a heinous criminal.

"He looked like he was the king of the world — as flossy as possible, blinged out, with the family, and everything's good," Kenny Hull, a reality show director who worked on the second iteration of "Making the Band," which featured Combs, told Business Insider about the last time he saw Combs, a few years ago at a park in Los Angeles.

"From the top to the absolute bottom," he added. "Canceled and done."

Combs has vehemently and consistently denied all accusations of sexual assault and sex trafficking since Ventura's lawsuit was filed, and each time a new allegation has been made against him.

"Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man, woman, adult or minor," lawyers for Combs told BI.

A birthday behind bars

Combs celebrated his 55th birthday not at a luxe international club but at the notorious Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, where, a person previously told BI, he was sharing a dormitory with the crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

Instead of flowing Champagne or DeLeón, a jailhouse dinner was served on Combs' November birthday, consisting of Salisbury steak or black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, and green beans. There was no partying with A-listers, though he did receive a phone call from his kids.

Combs has been in jail pretrial since he was arrested in September, following a monthslong investigation that led to a grand jury indictment on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly causing victims and paid sex workers to cross state lines.

The Bad Boy Records founder faces anywhere from 15 years to life in prison on a federal indictment alleging that for decades, he used violence, threats, and drugs to coerce women into sexual performances, including at elaborately planned, dayslong parties called "freak offs."

Combs has pleaded not guilty, insisting through his lawyers that the sex was consensual and that his accusers have financial motives to implicate him. His next court date is Wednesday.

And more criminal charges may be coming, as prosecutors have said grand jurors are weighing a new indictment that could include allegations of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors allege that Combs has used phone accounts belonging to other people held at the jail to contact family members and associates and enlist them to plant negative stories about his accusers and funnel payments to a witness.

They also say agents recovered three AR-15 rifles with defaced serial numbers when search warrants were executed in March at Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles and at a Florida airport. And in September, when Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt, a five-star hotel in midtown Manhattan, they recovered bags of pink powder that prosecutors said in September they believed contained ecstasy and other drugs. Prosecutors have not revealed the results of a drug test they said was conducted in September.

Since his arrest, Combs has made three unsuccessful attempts to be released on bail ahead of his criminal trial, which is scheduled for May 5.

"No condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community," including of witnesses and prospective jurors, US District Judge Arun Subramanian wrote in the most recent bail denial, issued the day before Thanksgiving.

An avalanche of lawsuits

Just two weeks after Combs was arrested and subsequently locked up at the Brooklyn jail, the Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee held a press conference to announce that his firm was representing 120 people accusing Combs of sexual misconduct.

"We are going to follow this evidence wherever it takes us. We will find the silent accomplices. We will expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors," Buzbee said of his legal offensive.

Since Ventura's bombshell November 2023 lawsuit, more than 30 civil lawsuits have been filed accusing Combs of sexual abuse, including about 20 from Buzbee's clients, all listed as John Doe or Jane Doe.

"It feels really good to know he's behind bars," Adria English, who is not a Buzbee client, told BI. She worked as a dancer at Combs' famous white parties and filed a lawsuit in July accusing him of sex trafficking. "What we're having to speak of already sounds like we're lying — it already sounds like a movie because it's so horrible," she said. "It's so disgusting."

Attorneys for Combs pointed BI to a statement previously released in response to English's lawsuit, saying in part: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted, or sex trafficked anyone."

The "I'll Be Missing You" rapper has been accused by both men and women of rape, sexual assault, and lacing drinks with drugs. Over half a dozen of the lawsuits allege the abuse of boys and girls between 10 and 17 years old. Four lawsuits allege that sexual attacks happened at Combs' famed A-list white parties throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, and two of those four lawsuits allege teenagers were victimized.

Timeline of events

Earlier this month, a woman accused the rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, of raping her with Combs when she was 13 years old at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. An unnamed plaintiff originally filed the lawsuit in October, identifying Carter only as "Celebrity A."

Carter, in a statement through the X account of his entertainment company, Roc Nation, denied the allegations, calling them "heinous" and accusing Buzbee, the plaintiff's lawyer, of trying to "blackmail" him.

Attorneys for Combs continue to call all the lawsuits brought by Buzbee publicity grabs.

"Mr. Buzbee's lawsuit against Jay-Z and Mr. Combs and the recent extortion lawsuit Jay-Z brought against Mr. Buzbee exposes Mr. Buzbee's barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs," attorneys for Combs told BI Thursday.

The accuser in the lawsuit filed against Combs and Carter said in a recent interview with NBC News that there were some inconsistencies in her story but that she stood by the allegations.

Combs' lawyers are challenging the claims in at least seven lawsuits, which are ongoing. He has not responded in court to the lawsuits brought by Buzbee, which were all filed after his arrest.

A Los Angeles entertainment attorney, Camron Dowlatshahi, who's not involved in the lawsuits against Combs, told BI that though the rapper is still considered wealthy, litigating each of these cases through trial and potentially being exposed to multimillion-dollar judgments "does not seem prudent."

"Each of the lawsuits piggy-back on the other, and witnesses will be plenty," Dowlatshahi, a partner at the law firm Mills Sadat Dowlat, said.

Dowlatshahi said that lawsuits typically settle before trial and that he anticipated the same in Combs' case.

"Diddy will have to be strategic, however, in which cases he settles first and for how much," Dowlatshahi said.

Down with Diddy's empire

As the allegations against Combs have piled up, so have his legal bills.

Combs was once estimated to be worth $820 million, according to Forbes. He'd created an assortment of lucrative revenue drivers that contributed to regular eight-figure annual paydays, including a deal with Diageo; his lifestyle brand, Sean John; a record label; and a music catalog.

One by one, those income streams have dried up.

When the civil lawsuits started, Combs was already engaged in a legal back-and-forth with Diageo, his most bankable partner.

Combs signed with the liquor giant in 2007, agreeing to be the face of Cîroc vodka in exchange for a cut of sales. The partnership became one of the most lucrative celebrity liquor deals in history, expanding further when Combs and Diageo launched DeLeón, a co-owned tequila line. Over 15 years, the company paid him nearly $1 billion, Forbes reported.

While Combs originally sued Diageo in May 2023, alleging the company did not support his ventures, the mounting sexual abuse lawsuits did him in, in the end.

"Mr. Combs is well-aware that these lawsuits make it impossible for him to continue to be the 'face' of anything," Diageo lawyers wrote in a letter to a judge in December 2023.

By January, the matter was resolved. Combs received $200 million for his stake in DeLeón tequila and not a penny for his longtime work with Cîroc.

It's a similar story for his other ventures.

Combs' lifestyle company, Sean John, had already slipped: In 2016, he sold a majority stake in the business, which at that point included fragrances and furnishings, to Global Brands Group for $70 million, Forbes reported. Just five years later, Global Brands Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Combs bought back the business for $7.55 million, just over 10% of what it was once worth.

The clothing line's website has gone defunct, its Instagram scrapped, and it is no longer sold at Macy's, once the exclusive home of the brand's sportswear line — and one of its last remaining retailers. The department store, which was accused by one of Buzbee's clients of covering up a 2008 sexual attack by Combs, did not comment on whether the removal of his Sean John line had to do with the compounding lawsuits. Macy's didn't respond to the allegations of covering up a sexual assault in court or to a request for comment about them from BI.

The disintegration of Combs' entertainment businesses, though, was a direct reaction to his mounting legal problems.

Soon after Ventura filed her lawsuit, Combs stepped down as chair of Revolt, the cable network and media company he cofounded. By June, he'd given up his stake. A Hulu reality show that was supposed to follow Combs and his family was scrapped. Any chance of his being able to cash out and sell his music catalog is slim.

"There are so many lost opportunities," Clayton Durant, a professor who teaches music business at Long Island University's Roc Nation School, told BI in October. "There is no way a brand is touching Diddy — probably forever."

With no moneymaking on the table, Combs has taken to trying to sell the assets he does have.

Earlier this year, he listed his Los Angeles mansion in the tony Holmby Hills for $61.5 million. His private jet, LoveAir, is also listed for sale, and while he awaits a buyer, he's been renting it out.

It's not clear how much use he will have for it anyway, at least in the near future.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Combs lost his third application to be freed on $50 million bail.

Subramanian ordered that he remain held pending his May 5 trial, citing the rap mogul's history of violence and of contacting and threatening prospective witnesses.

"Diddy's been the ultimate puppet master for the last 30 years, and people wanted to say something … they've been too afraid," English, the dancer who accused Combs in a lawsuit of sex trafficking, told BI. "But now because of the raids, everybody's about to be exposed, regardless, so it's going to come out."

• The Alexander brothers have been hit with federal sex-trafficking charges.
• Oren and Tal Alexander are top real-estate agents. Police also arrested a third brother.
• The brothers earlier denied the accusations through an attorney.

The Alexander brothers were arrested on Wednesday on federal charges of sex trafficking. Prosecutors accused the siblings of operating a "long-running sex trafficking scheme," according to an unsealed indictment.

The New York prosecutors said in the indictment that Tal and Oren — who are among the nation's top luxury real-estate agents — and their brother, Alon, collaborated for more than a decade with others both "known and unknown" to "repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of victims."

The indictment said the brothers used their wealth and prominent positions "to create opportunities to rape and sexually assault women" in Manhattan and Miami in a scheme that began in 2010 and lasted more than 10 years.

At times, prosecutors said the brothers planned out the sexual assaults in advance "using the promise of luxury experiences, travel, and accommodations to lure and entice women to locations where they were forcibly raped or sexually assaulted, sometimes by multiple men, including one or more of the Alexander brothers."

Other times, the Alexander brothers chose their victims by chance, prosecutors said.

The real-estate duo, in particular, the indictment said, "used their prominent positions in the industry to induce other women to attend events and parties, and to meet other women at those events and parties, whom one or more of the defendants later sexually assaulted."

Prosecutors alleged the Alexander brothers worked together and with other men to arrange events and both domestic and international trips that they used as "bait" to "recruit, entice, harbor, transport, and maintain multiple women."

Ahead of events and trips, the Alexander brothers would secure drugs, including hallucinogenic mushrooms, cocaine, and GHB, which they agreed to provide women, the indictment says.

On multiple occasions, they and others would "surreptitiously" drug women's drinks, prosecutors said.

"At times, the defendants physically restrained and held down their victims during the rapes and sexual assaults and ignored screams and explicit requests to stop," the indictment said.

Oren Alexander, Alon Alexander, and their cousin, Ohad Fisherman, were also separately charged in Florida with sexual battery in three incidents in Miami involving three different women in 2016, 2017, and 2021.

Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the state attorney for Miami-Dade County in Florida, announced the charges in a joint news conference with the Miami Beach police department on Wednesday.

Florida prosecutors charged Oren Alexander with three counts of sexual battery, with one of the charges involving multiple perpetrators and classified as a second-degree felony. Alon Alexander was charged with one count of sexual battery involving multiple perpetrators, a second-degree felony. Fisherman was charged with one count of sexual battery by multiple perpetrators.

In the first incident in 2016, Oren and Alon took turns raping a woman at Alon's Miami Beach apartment while Fisherman held her down, the state attorney said. The woman told police that after the assault, Oren asked her to shower and Alon told her not to tell anybody what had happened. The woman told her two sisters and a friend about the assault but did not contact police at the time because she feared retribution from the men, the state attorney said.

Prosecutors said the second incident, which involved only Oren, took place after a woman attended a real-estate event with him in 2017. After the event, Oren invited her to his apartment, where he gave her a glass of wine, after which she said she felt weak and out of control of her body. She found herself on Oren's bed with Oren on top of her; she could not move or speak or push him off. He then raped her, she said.

In the third incident in 2021, a woman met Oren at a dinner she attended with a friend, the state attorney said. Oren invited the woman and her friend to his house on Flamingo Drive. At his house, Oren brought the woman to a couch next to his bedroom, removed her shoes, and started kissing her. The woman said she felt uncomfortable as Oren became aggressive. When she tried to pull away from him, he ripped off the top of her dress, leaving her naked on top. She went to his bedroom to grab a T-shirt from his closet and tried to leave the house. But when she got downstairs, she realized she could not leave because the doors were remote-controlled. She went back upstairs to ask Oren to let her out. There, Oren pushed her onto his bed, held her down with his knees, and assaulted her as she told him no, prosecutors said.

Rundle, the state attorney, thanked the "brave women" for disclosing what happened to them.

"These women are strong and they're resilient," she said. "They are an example to anyone else out there who has experienced sex violence."

Local news footage showed Oren and Alon being escorted into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami on Wednesday. Tal, who was not mentioned in the Florida news conference, was being held at a separate jail, Local 10 News reported.

The brothers' arrest follows years of sexual-assault allegations by multiple women.

Deanna Paul, a New York attorney for Tal Alexander, confirmed to Business Insider that police arrested the brothers in Miami on Wednesday morning but declined to comment further.

The brothers have "strongly" denied any wrongdoing, James Cinque, a New York-based attorney, told Business Insider in September.

"We have asked them not to comment while these matters work their way through the legal system," Cinque said, "but are comfortable that they will ultimately be vindicated."

The FBI began investigating the Alexander brothers after The Real Deal first reported in June that two women had filed civil lawsuits against Oren and Alon earlier this year.

The women, Kate Whiteman and Rebecca Mandel, said the brothers took turns raping them in two separate incidents in 2010 and 2012, respectively. About 10 days after The Real Deal's article was published, another woman, Angelica Parker, filed a lawsuit accusing Alon and Tal of raping her in their New York City apartment in 2012 while Oren watched. In July, a fourth woman, the actor and comedian Renée Willett, filed a lawsuit against Oren, accusing him of drugging and raping her, also in his SoHo apartment in 2015.

"We are glad to hear that there will finally be some measure of accountability for the Alexander brothers and justice for their many victims," David E. Gottlieb, a partner at Wigdor, the law firm representing Parker, said in a statement to BI. "We applaud all the survivors who have had the strength and courage to speak up about their unimaginable experiences after years of pain and suffering."

A day after the criminal indictments, another woman, going by "Jane Doe," filed a lawsuit in New York against Alon and Oren, accusing them both of raping her in 2016.

The lawsuit said Alon invited the plaintiff to a barbecue and pool party in Miami on New Year's Eve but that when she arrived she realized she was the only guest. She said Fisherman held her down while Oren raped her with Alon watching. Alon then raped her, the lawsuit said.

Lawyers for Alon, Oren, and Fisherman did not respond to a request for comment from BI on the new lawsuit.

Alon and Oren also appeared in court in Miami on Thursday, where a judge ordered they be held without bond, The New York Times reported. Alon had told the judge his wife was expected to give birth to their first child "any day now" and that she was counting on him to be with her. The next hearing is set for Friday.

At a press conference on Wednesday announcing the indictment, Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, called on additional victims to speak out.

"Our investigation is far from over," Williams said. "If you have been a victim of the alleged sexual violence perpetrated by Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander, or Tal Alexander — or if you know anything about their alleged crimes — we urge you to come forward."

Since June, more than a dozen women have said they were raped or assaulted by the three brothers, sometimes in tandem. Business Insider spoke to four women who described being assaulted or feeling coerced into sexual encounters, including one who said Tal, now 38, raped her in Las Vegas in 2017.

Business Insider's investigation found that it was an open secret in wealthy social circles for years that the Alexander twins, 37, and their older brother Tal, mistreated women.

Oren and Tal started their real-estate careers at Douglas Elliman before launching their own brokerage, Official, in 2022. Alon works for the family's security company in Florida.

December 12, 2024: This story has been updated to include a new lawsuit that was filed a day after the criminal indictments as well as Alon and Oren's court appearance on Thursday.

• Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing, shouted to the press on Tuesday.
• He referred to "an insult to the American people" as police led him into a Pennsylvania courthouse.
• Mangione is fighting his extradition to New York, where he's facing a murder charge.

Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is fighting his extradition to New York where he is facing a murder charge.

The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate appeared for his extradition hearing at Pennsylvania's Blaire County Court House on Tuesday — a day after police in the city of Altoona arrested him on local charges.

At the start of the hearing, Mangione's attorney, Thomas Dickey, told the judge that his client was contesting his extradition to New York.

Judge David Consiglio denied Mangione's request for bail. Mangione has 14 days to challenge that decision.

Mangione will remain at Pennsylvania's Huntingdon State Correctional Institution as the extradition proceedings continue.

The office of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will now need to submit what's known as a "governor's warrant" to the office of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in order to make a formal extradition request.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed that his office will seek a governor's warrant in order to secure Mangione's extradition to New York.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hochul said she was coordinating with the Manhattan DA's office and "will sign a request for a governor's warrant to ensure this individual is tried and held accountable."

"Public safety is my top priority and I'll do everything in my power to keep the streets of New York safe," Hochul said.

A New York arrest warrant issued for Mangione shows that he faces a second-degree murder charge — which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison — for the December 4 Midtown Manhattan killing of Thompson.

Mangione also faces four other charges related to the killing of the insurance CEO: two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third-degree, according to the warrant obtained by Business Insider.

Mangione screamed to the media as he was led into the courthouse

Moments before Tuesday's hearing began, Mangione, handcuffed and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, shouted out to the press as Pennsylvania police escorted him into the courthouse.

Mangione yelled out something partially unintelligible, calling it "completely out of touch" and "an insult to the American people." He also shouted that something was a "lived experience" as a group of officers led him into the courthouse.

It's not clear what else Mangione yelled toward reporters who had gathered outside the courthouse.

Police arrested Mangione on Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on local charges after they found him in a McDonald's with a 3-D-printed gun inside his backpack, according to police and a criminal complaint.

His arrest capped a dayslong manhunt launched after Thompson — a 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota — was shot dead in the heart of Manhattan in what police have described as a "brazen, targeted attack."

During Mangione's arrest, officers found a three-page handwritten so-called manifesto "that speaks to both his motivation and mindset," New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Monday press conference.

That document revealed "anti-corporatist sentiment" and "a lot of issues with the health care industry," Tisch said during an interview Tuesday morning on NBC's "Today" show.

"But as to like particular, specific motive that'll come out as this investigation continues to unfold over the next weeks and month," the NYPD commissioner said.

This story has been updated.

• UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4.
• Police arrested Luigi Mangione, who now faces a murder charge for the killing.
• Mangione has hired prominent New York lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo to defend him.

Luigi Mangione, the man police say murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has hired high-profile attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

Friedman Agnifilo is married to Marc Agnifilo, lead lawyer defending Sean "Diddy" Combs against federal sex-trafficking charges.

The Combs and Mangione cases will be handled by the same Manhattan law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, and can be expected to dominate legal news headlines in the coming year.

In getting retained, Friedman Agnifilo bested some half-dozen other prominent attorneys who had been interviewed by the Mangione family last week, according to multiple sources who asked not to be named due to their connection with the case.

Friedman Agnifilo last week left her previous law firm, Perry Law, to join her husband's firm as counsel, representatives for both firms told Business Insider.

Friedman Agnifilo had been a CNN commentator as recently as Wednesday, when she suggested that an insanity defense would be Mangione's best bet.

She told journalist Kaitlan Collins, "It looks like to me there might be a 'not guilty by reason of insanity' defense that they're going to be thinking about because the evidence is going to be so overwhelming that he did what he did."

On Friday night, Collins broke the news that Friedman Agnifilo had been hired by the Mangione family.

Friedman Agnifilo worked as the chief assistant district attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office for seven years before pivoting to private practice in 2021.

Mangione faces a second-degree murder charge in New York for the fatal December 4 shooting of Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota. That charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

(A charge of first-degree murder is reserved for those accused of killing a law enforcement official or witness of a crime, or for when a murder is committed during the commission of another high-level crime, including robbery, rape, or kidnapping.)

Mangione is fighting extradition to New York City. The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate appeared for a hearing on December 10 at Pennsylvania's Blair County Courthouse, where a lawyer, Thomas Dickey, told the judge that Mangione was contesting his extradition. Police arrested Mangione in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 on local charges and later arraigned. Mangione made a bail request, which the judge denied during the hearing.

The suspect will remain at Pennsylvania's Huntingdon State Correctional Institution during the extradition proceedings. Dickey told reporters on December 10 that Mangione would plead not guilty to all the charges in Pennsylvania.

In an interview with CNN that evening, Dickey also said that he anticipates Mangione would plead not guilty to the murder charge in New York and that he hadn't seen any evidence that officials in New York "have the right guy."

Mangione also faces four other charges related to the killing of the insurance CEO: two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third-degree.

A gun found on Mangione matched the three shell casings found at the site of the shooting, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a December 11 press conference.

Tisch added that the suspect's fingerprints also matched those found on a water bottle and snack bar wrapper discarded near the crime scene.

During Mangione's arrest, officers found a three-page handwritten document "that speaks to both his motivation and mindset," Tisch said at a separate press conference on December 9.

An internal NYPD report obtained by The New York Times gave the clearest view of the potential motive yet. Based on the so-called manifesto discovered, Mangione "likely views himself as a hero of sorts who has finally decided to act upon such injustices," the NYPD report said, as reported by the Times.

Mangione "appeared to view the targeted killing of the company's highest-ranking representative as a symbolic takedown and a direct challenge to its alleged corruption and 'power games,' asserting in his note he is the 'first to face it with such brutal honesty,'" according to the NYPD report by the department's Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau, the Times reported.

In a statement to Business Insider, representatives for Nino Mangione — a Maryland state legislator and a cousin of Mangione's — declined to comment on the news of Mangione's arrest.

"Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione," the statement read. "We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi's arrest."

Recognized at a McDonald's

Mangione was eating in an Altoona McDonald's when an employee recognized him from the several surveillance images that authorities released in the aftermath of Thompson's killing and called the police, New York police said at the December 9 press conference.

Altoona police found Mangione in the McDonald's with multiple fake IDs and a US passport, as well as a firearm and a suppressor "both consistent with the weapon used" in the shooting of Thompson in the heart of Manhattan, Tisch, the NYPD commissioner, said.

The gun appeared to be a "ghost gun" that may have been made on a 3-D printer. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at the press conference that such a gun could fire a 9-millimeter round.

A Pennsylvania criminal complaint filed against Mangione said officers found a black 3-D-printed pistol and 3-D-printed silencer inside the suspect's backpack.

When Altoona officers asked Mangione if he had been to New York recently, he "became quiet and started to shake," the criminal complaint said.

Clothing, including a mask, was also recovered "consistent with those worn" by the suspect wanted for Thompson's killing, along with a fake New Jersey ID matching the ID that the murder suspect used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the attack, Tisch said.

Based on the handwritten document that police found on Mangione, according to Kenny, "it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America."

During a December 10 interview on NBC's "Today" show, Tisch said the "manifesto" revealed "anti-corporatist sentiment" and "a lot of issues with the healthcare industry."

"But as to like particular, specific motive that'll come out as this investigation continues to unfold over the next weeks and month," the NYPD commissioner said.

NBC News and The New York Times, each citing an unnamed senior law enforcement official, reported that the handwritten document read in part: "These parasites had it coming."

"I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done," it added, according to the reports.

Police believe that Mangione acted alone.

NYPD investigators traveled to Altoona last week to interview Mangione after Altoona officers took him into custody.

Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said at Mangione's Pennsylvania arraignment that Mangione was carrying $10,000 in cash, including foreign currency, according to the Associated Press.

Mangione disputed the amount in court.

Mangione was active on social media

Mangione posted and amplified posts about technological advances like artificial intelligence on X. He also posted about fitness and healthy living.

He frequently retweeted posts by the writer Tim Urban and commentator Jonathan Haidt about the promise and perils of technology. He also appeared to be a fan of Michael Pollan, known for his writing about food and ethics.

Other deleted social media posts showed support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and expressed skepticism toward both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.

At the top of his profile was a header image with three images: a photo of himself, smiling, shirtless on a mountain ridge, a Pokemon, and an x-ray with four pins or screws visible in the lower back.

Mangione founded a company called AppRoar Studios in 2015 while still in high school. AppRoar released an iPhone game called Pivot Plane that is no longer available.

The two other cofounders of AppRoar could not be reached for comment.

Mangione's X account has been deactivated. A spokesperson for YouTube said his three accounts on the platform were also terminated, but that they had not been active for about seven months.

A manhunt

Mangione's arrest followed a nearly week-long manhunt.

According to police, Manigone was born and raised in Maryland, and has ties to San Francisco, California. His last known address was in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The New York Post, citing law-enforcement sources, reported that Mangione's mother reported him missing in mid-November.

Law-enforcement sources told ABC News that FBI agents and members of the NYPD spoke to the mother a day before Mangione's arrest, following a tip, and that in the conversation she indicated that the person in the surveillance photos could be her son.

Kenny, the NYPD's chief of detectives, said that Manigone has no prior arrest history in New York and no known arrests in the US.

A Luigi Mangione with a matching birthday and address received a citation for simple trespass for entering a forbidden area of a state park in Hawaii in November 2023. He pleaded no contest and paid a $100 fine.

"For just over five days, our NYPD investigators combed through thousands of hours of video, followed up on hundreds of tips, and processed every bit of forensic evidence — DNA, fingerprints, IP addresses and so much to tighten the net," Tisch said at Monday's press conference announcing the arrest of Manigone.

Thompson was shot multiple times on a Midtown sidewalk as he was walking toward the Hilton hotel. He was steps away from a side entrance to the hotel — where he was set to speak at UnitedHealth Group's investor conference — when a hooded gunman opened fire on him from behind.

The chief executive of the nation's largest health insurer was struck at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, police said.

Surveillance footage showed the gunman firing his weapon as Thompson, wearing a blue suit jacket, walked several feet in front of him.

The gunman fled the scene, first on foot and then on an electric bike, which he rode into Central Park before ultimately escaping from New York City, police said.

Shell casings and bullets found at the scene had the words "deny," "defend," and "depose" written on them, according to multiple reports citing unnamed sources. BI couldn't independently confirm these details.

In the aftermath of the attack, the NYPD offered a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the gunman's arrest, with the FBI offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

A spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, reacted to news of Manigone's arrest in a statement to BI, saying: "Our hope is that today's apprehension brings some relief to Brian's family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy. We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family's privacy as they mourn."

• UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City on Wednesday, the police said.
• The NYPD said Thompson, 50, appeared to be killed in a targeted attack.
• Police on Monday arrested a "person of interest" identified as 26-year-old Luigi Mangione.

Police in Pennsylvania on Monday arrested a "person of interest" in connection to the fatal Midtown Manhattan shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The 26-year-old man, identified as Luigi Mangione, was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and charged with local gun and forgery charges, New York Police Department officials said during a press conference.

Mangione was arraigned on Monday evening and charged on five counts, including two felonies: forgery, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing instruments of crime, and false identification to law enforcement, according to a criminal complaint viewed by Business Insider. He was ordered held without bail.

Mangione was arrested after an employee at a McDonald's recognized him from the surveillance photos circulated by law enforcement and called the police. The complaint said Mangione was wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop when Altoona police arrived.

Mangione had fake IDs, a US passport, and a gun and silencer "consistent with" the one thought to have been used by the gunman who killed Thompson, police said. The criminal complaint said the gun and silencer had been 3-D-printed.

NYPD officials said Mangione was also found with a three-page handwritten document that suggested "he has some ill will toward corporate America."

Mangione is expected to be extradited to New York to face additional charges, NYPD officials said.

The manhunt for Thompson's killer

The NYPD had released more than a half-dozen surveillance images of the man suspected to be the shooter in the December 4 attack in the hopes that tips from the public could help authorities track him down.

The latest photos of the man suspected of the shooting — which has been described by police as a targeted attack — included one showing him in the back of what appears to be a taxi, wearing a blue medical mask and a dark hood. Another image showed the man standing outside the vehicle's window wearing a mask, hood, and dark puffer jacket.

Moments after shooting Thompson dead in the heart of Manhattan Wednesday, police say the gunman fled the scene, first on foot and then on an electric bike, which he rode into Central Park. Police believe the shooter ultimately escaped New York City by bus.

Investigators believed the gunman caught a cab on Manhattan's Upper West Side and directed the driver to a bus station as he made his getaway following the shooting, Bloomberg reported.

Police officials told CNN they believed the man left New York City via the Port Authority's George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Washington Heights.

"We have video of him entering the Port Authority bus terminal. We don't have any video of him exiting, so we believe he may have gotten on a bus," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said in a December 6 interview. "Those buses are interstate buses. That's why we believe he may have left New York City," Kenny said.

NYPD divers were seen over the weekend searching the waters in Central Park for any evidence in the shooting.

A law-enforcement source told CNN that investigators had found a backpack in Central Park that they believed belonged to the gunman. The backpack contained a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly money, CNN reported, citing law-enforcement officials and sources.

It was not immediately clear if other items were found in the backpack.

Kenny said on December 6 that officials were investigating the possibility that the gunman may have used a veterinary gun, used on farms to euthanize large animals quietly, in the shooting, CNN reported.

A law-enforcement source previously told BI that the gun used by the shooter appeared to be equipped with a silencer, according to surveillance footage of the attack.

Most of the images that police have released of the man wanted in the shooting show him with a mask covering the bottom half of his face, except a set of two, which NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the "money shot," that showed the clearest images yet of the suspect unmasked.

"He's been traveling and walking around the streets of New York City largely in a mask, with his face covered. We had to go through lots of video evidence to get that one money shot with the mask down," Tisch told CNN in a December 6 interview.

Tisch said that police released the photos of the man not wearing a mask because they wanted a "wider audience to see the picture outside of New York City."

"We are right now processing a tremendous amount of evidence in this case," the NYPD commissioner told the news outlet, adding that authorities already have "lots of forensic evidence," including fingerprints and DNA evidence.

Police have called the killing of Thompson premeditated

Police have described Thompson's killing as "a brazen, targeted attack."

Thompson was set to speak at UnitedHealth Group's 8 a.m. investor conference on December 4 when a hooded gunman opened fire from behind, striking him at least once in the back and at least once in the right calf, the police said.

"Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack," Tisch told reporters at a press conference hours after the shooting.

"It appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes," Tisch added.

The NYPD offered a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the gunman's arrest, and the FBI said it was also offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the gunman's arrest and conviction.

Multiple reports said that authorities conducted forensic tests on a discarded cellphone, protein bar wrapper, and water bottle.

How the suspect arrived in New York is also becoming clearer.

Authorities believe he may have traveled to the city 10 days before the shooting on November 24 on a bus that originated in Atlanta and dropped him off at Manhattan's main bus depot, the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It was not yet clear where along the route he boarded the bus.

The Atlanta Police Department announced Friday that the NYPD contacted it and will provide assistance in the investigation as needed.

The unmasked images of the wanted man released by police were captured at a hostel on New York City's Upper West Side, a law enforcement official told CNN, when an employee asked the man to lower his face mask.

The Times, citing a senior law enforcement official, previously reported that the suspect in the shooting used a fake New Jersey ID to book a room at the hostel he was staying at in the days before the attack.

Retired NYPD homicide detective Salvatore Tudisco previously told BI that the photos showing the man's face were likely to speed up the manhunt.

Tudisco led the city's last big manhunt for a murdered CEO, Gokada founder Fahim Saleh, whose killer was captured in three days by traces on credit card, cellphone, and surveillance camera evidence.

"That's the best option — to send it across the country, and someone will know him," the ex-detective said of the latest images.

He added that a facial-recognition trace would be less of an option because the hostel surveillance images do not show the man's full face.

Investigators can still try to run the photo through state driver's license and arrest databases, Tudisco said. However, some states require a judge to issue a warrant before state driver's licenses can be used as evidence in an arrest and beyond.

Shooter was 'proficient in the use of firearms,' police said

Kenny said at the NYPD's press conference in the aftermath of the shooting that the gunman arrived on 6th Avenue about five minutes before Thompson. The shooter's weapon appeared to jam during the attack, he added.

"From watching the video, it does seem that he's proficient in the use of firearms, as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly," Kenny said.

Surveillance footage captured the incident, showing the gunman firing his weapon as Thompson, wearing a blue suit jacket, was walking several feet in front of him.

A law-enforcement source, who is not authorized to talk to the press, told Business Insider that the gun appeared to be equipped with a silencer. The source added that the gunman "definitely knew" where Thompson was going to be.

The police said officers found Thompson unconscious and unresponsive two minutes after the shooting. Emergency responders rushed him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m.

Police have not identified a motive

The shooting occurred blocks from Midtown holiday tourism landmarks, including Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center, whose Christmas tree lighting took place on December 4.

In the aftermath of the shooting, six evidence cups were visible on the taped-off section of the sidewalk where the attack occurred.

"That's covering the shell casings," an officer at the scene told BI, declining to give their name because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

UnitedHealth Group canceled its "investor day" conference shortly after reports of the shooting broke.

Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the killing.

Kenny said investigators were combing through Thompson's social media and interviewing employees and family members and would be talking to law enforcement in Minnesota, where Thompson lived and where UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare are based.

Thompson's wife, Paulette Thompson, previously told NBC News in an interview that her husband had been receiving threats.

"Basically, I don't know, a lack of coverage?" she said. "I don't know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."

The police department in his hometown of Maple Grove, Minnesota, told BI it hadn't been notified of any threats he might have received. Theresa Keehn, the Maple Grove police administrator, initially said Maple Grove had no record of calls for service to his house. Still, the department later said it had responded to a 2018 call from Paulette Thompson. An incident report said she had been walking to bed when she saw the front door deadbolt turn and grew afraid someone was inside the house. The police did not find anyone inside the home.

An unnamed senior law enforcement official told NBC News that shell cases found at the scene were inscribed with the words "deny," "defend," and "depose." BI has not independently confirmed the description of the evidence, and an NYPD spokesperson didn't return a request for comment.

Jay M. Feinman, an author and legal professor specializing in insurance law, torts, and contract law, wrote a similarly titled book "Delay Deny Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It."

The book is dubbed an exposé of insurance injustice and explains how people can be more careful when shopping for insurance policies and what to do when pursuing a disputed claim.

The NYPD said Thompson arrived in New York City on Monday and was staying at a hotel across the street from where he was shot.

Police in Maple Grove, Minnesota, told BI homes of Thompson and his wife in a suburb outside Minneapolis were targeted with fake bomb threats Wednesday evening, more than 13 hours after the shooting.

Thompson was remembered as a 'hardworking Midwest guy.'

Thompson spent 20 years at UnitedHealth Group and was CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the health-benefits unit, since April 2021.

While announcing his promotion, the company said Thompson would "drive continued growth across the global, employer, individual, specialty, and government benefits business while continuing the company's focus on ensuring access to high-quality, affordable healthcare."

Leaders in the healthcare industry shared their condolences in the hours after Thompson's death.

UnitedHealth's shares were broadly unchanged after the shooting. They've gained about 12% in the past 12 months, less than the 32% increase in the S&P 500, but outperforming competitors, including CVS Health, Humana, and Elevance Health. During its third-quarter results in October, it gave what UBS called a "more conservative than usual" outlook for fiscal 2025. Ahead of Wednesday's investor day, it gave more detailed guidance for next year, forecasting revenue of $450 billion to $455 billion and adjusted earnings of $29.50 to $30 a share. The company also suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted pharmacy deliveries earlier this year.

By the afternoon of the shooting, UnitedHealth Group had removed the names of its executives from its website, an archived version of its site shows. Some executives also appeared to have deleted their LinkedIn profiles, though it's unclear when.

Thompson had previously served as CEO of the group's government programs, running its programs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

Thompson's former brother-in-law, Bassel El-Kasaby, told Business Insider that Thompson was "a good guy, very successful and very humble — just a decent, hardworking Midwest guy."

"Whoever did this is a coward and a loser," El-Kasaby said.

Correction: December 4, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated Thompson's work history at United Health. He worked at the company for 20 years but was not an executive there for 20 years.

Update December 9, 2024: This story was updated with details on the arrest of a "person of interest" in the shooting.

• A Kansas county has sued a group of companies, alleging "false representations" about plastic recyclability.
• Energy giants ExxonMobil and Chevron are among the defendants named in the lawsuit.
• The lawsuit alleges a "decades-long campaign of fraud and deception about the recyclability of plastics."

A Kansas county has sued a group of nearly a dozen companies, including energy giants ExxonMobil and Chevron, accusing them of "false representations" to the public regarding the recyclability of plastics.

"This case is about Defendants' profit-driven decision to promote the idea to the American consumer that plastics were recyclable and better for the environment, when in reality they had information that only a tiny fraction of plastics are ever recycled," says the class action lawsuit filed this week by Kansas' Ford County.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the District of Kansas, alleges that the petrochemical companies' "false representations" around the recyclability of plastics has resulted in higher production levels of plastic products, more demand for them, inflated prices for plastic products as well as issues with plastic waste remediation.

All of this, the lawsuit alleges, has harmed the citizens of Kansas.

ExxonMobil and Chevron did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Business Insider on Friday.

The lawsuit says that some of the largest oil and gas companies are among the 20 petrochemical companies responsible for more than half of all single-use plastics generated globally.

"Despite their long-standing knowledge that recycling plastic is neither technically nor economically viable, petrochemical companies — independently and through their industry trade associations and front groups — have engaged in fraudulent marketing and public education campaigns designed to mislead the public about the viability of plastic recycling as a solution to plastic waste," the lawsuit reads.

The complaint says that the plastics industry "should be held accountable for their campaign of deception."

The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount in damages as well as an injunction to enforce that the companies no longer advertise their plastic products as recyclable.

Globally, about 9% of plastic is actually recycled, according to a 2022 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

• The owners of Burger King and Popeyes franchises in Massachusetts have been fined for child labor violations.
• The office of the Massachusetts AG said it issued more than $2 million in citations against one operator.
• The US has seen a rise in child labor violations in recent years.

The Massachusetts attorney general has fined the owners of multiple Burger King and Popeyes franchises for violating child labor laws and other labor laws.

The office of Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said this week that it issued more than $2 million in citations against Northeast Foods LLC, which operates dozens of Burger King franchises across the state.

That fine includes penalties against the company as well as restitution for unpaid wages, the AG's office said in a press release.

Campbell's office alleged that the franchise operator assigned minors to work outside of legally permitted hours and more than the nine-hour daily limit that 16 and 17 year olds can work under state law.

The AG also accused Northeast Foods of failing to pay workers on time, pay minimum wage, or pay workers at all.

The AG's office said it launched an investigation into the matter after receiving a complaint from a worker at a Burger King location over a nonpayment of wages. The investigation revealed that nearly 2,000 employees at Burger King locations operated by Northeast Foods across Massachusetts were impacted by the alleged violations, the AG's office said.

Representatives for Northeast Foods did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.

Burger King's press representative said in a statement that the company "contacted the Franchisee facing these violations immediately upon learning of them, and they have informed us they are looking into the findings of the investigation, have implemented measures such as re-training their management teams related to the work hours of minors and putting ongoing audits in place, and are working on additional actions based on the investigation."

Additionally, Campbell's office said in the same press release that it reached a settlement with two owners of 19 Popeyes locations across Massachusetts. As part of that settlement, the AG's office issued $212,516 in citations against the operators, which included restitution for impacted workers and penalties.

The AG's office said the New Jersey-based franchise operators scheduled minors for work during prohibited hours and had them work beyond the daily and weekly hour limits. They also didn't allow some workers to use their accrued sick time, the AG's office said.

Those franchise operators could not be immediately reached for comment.

Popeyes' corporate representatives said the franchisee "fully cooperated in the investigation" and has since retrained its team and is enforcing a payroll system that will alert team members when it is time to clock out.

Meanwhile, the United States has seen an increase in child labor violations in recent years.

In federal fiscal year 2023, the Department of Labor found nearly 5,800 kids employed in violation of the law, which the agency said was an 88% increase in the number of children employed in violation since 2019.

The Labor Department found just over 4,000 minors employed in violation of the law in federal fiscal year 2024.

• Canadian news companies have sued OpenAI, alleging the ChatGPT-maker uses their content without permission.
• The lawsuit claims OpenAI violated Canadian copyright laws and profited from it.
• OpenAI faces similar copyright infringement lawsuits from other news outlets and authors.

Several top Canadian news companies have accused ChatGPT creator OpenAI of intentionally ripping off their copyrighted content to train its large language models.

Media companies Torstar, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC/Radio-Canada allege in a new lawsuit against OpenAI that the artificial intelligence startup has "engaged in ongoing, deliberate, and unauthorized misappropriation" of their news works.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and viewed by Business Insider, accuses OpenAI of violating Canadian copyright laws and "unjustly enriching" itself at the expense of the news media companies.

In response to the lawsuit, an OpenAI spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement that its models are "trained on publicly available data, grounded in fair use and related international copyright principles that are fair for creators and support innovation."

"We collaborate closely with news publishers, including in the display, attribution and links to their content in ChatGPT search, and offer them easy ways to opt-out should they so desire," the spokesperson said.

The news companies alleged in a joint statement that OpenAI "regularly breaches copyright and online terms of use by scraping large swaths of content from Canadian media to help develop its products, such as ChatGPT."

"OpenAI is capitalizing and profiting from the use of this content, without getting permission or compensating content owners," the statement said. "Journalism is in the public interest. OpenAI using other companies' journalism for their own commercial gain is not. It's illegal."

The 84-page lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount of damages to compensate the media companies for the "wrongful misappropriation" of their works as well as a permanent injunction in order to prevent OpenAI from carrying out "unlawful conduct."

"Rather than seek to obtain the information legally, OpenAI has elected to brazenly misappropriate the News Media Companies' valuable intellectual property and convert it for its own uses, including commercial uses, without consent or consideration," the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit follows a flurry of other lawsuits previously filed by authors, visual artists, news outlets, and computer coders against AI companies like OpenAI, arguing that their original works were used to train AI tools without their permission.

Other media organizations, including Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider, have partnered with OpenAI and licensed their work for use by the company.

The New York Times sued OpenAI and its largest backer Microsoft for copyright infringement late last year.

• Caroline Ellison appears to have had her scheduled prison release date moved up.
• She began her two-year sentence for her role in the $11 billion FTX fraud earlier this month.
• Prison records show her release date is set for July 2026.

Former cryptocurrency executive Caroline Ellison reported to federal prison earlier this month to serve a two-year sentence over her role in the massive multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme that led to the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's business empire.

And it appears that Ellison — the ex-girlfriend of Bankman-Fried, the FTX and Alameda Research founder — has already had her release date moved up.

Ellison, who was the CEO of Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research cryptocurrency hedge fund, began her prison sentence at the low-security Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut on November 7.

Federal Bureau of Prisons records viewed by Business Insider this week show Ellison's prison release date as scheduled for July 20, 2026 — which is more than three months short of two years.

Ellison's attorneys declined to comment for this story. A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told BI the agency does not comment on the confinement conditions of any person in custody, including release plans, but said that incarcerated individuals can earn time off their sentence for good behavior under the 2018 First Step Act.

"Every incarcerated individual earns Good Conduct Time (GCT), which is projected on their release date," the spokesman told BI in an email, explaining that under the FSA "qualifying individuals will be eligible to earn up to 54 days of GCT time for each year of the sentence imposed by the court."

In accordance with federal law, the Bureau of Prisons "continues to pro-rate the amount of GCT time earned for the final year of service of the sentence," the spokesman said.

Ellison, 30, was sentenced in September after she previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with Bankman-Fried in the $11 billion fraud scheme.

She served as the star witness in Bankman-Fried's criminal trial, testifying how the pair used Alameda Research to invest billions of dollars worth of assets secretly siphoned from customers of FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Bankman-Fried controlled.

During Ellison's sentencing hearing, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan praised her for cooperating in the prosecution of Bankman-Fried, but said that he could not let her off scot-free.

"You're a very strong person in some ways. But you're not inviolable," Kaplan told Ellison at the time. "Somehow, for some reason — it's hard for me to understand — Mr. Bankman-Fried had your kryptonite."

"You were vulnerable, and you were exploited," Kaplan said.

Ellison's lawyers had asked that the judge not give her any time behind bars because of her cooperation with the government, and prosecutors also commended cooperation.

However, Kaplan said at Ellison's sentencing, "For it to be a case this serious, to be a literal get-out-of-jail-free card — I cannot see a way to it."

While holding back tears, Ellison delivered an apology before Kaplan sentenced her, expressing regret for participating in the fraud scheme.

"On some level, my brain doesn't even comprehend all the people I harmed," Ellison told the court. "That doesn't mean I don't try."

In March, Kaplan sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.

Bankman-Fried, 32, remains behind bars at the infamous Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he appeals his conviction. Sean "Diddy" Combs is also being housed at the notorious lock-up.

A source told BI in September that Bankman-Fried and Combs were bunking in the same dormitory.

• Sean "Diddy" Combs will spend Thanksgiving behind bars at a Brooklyn jail.
• A turkey roast, mashed potatoes, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich will be served to detainees.
• "It's not top-grade food," a former federal inmate turned prison consultant told BI.

Sean "Diddy" Combs may be spending this Thanksgiving behind bars at a notorious Brooklyn jail, but at least he won't miss out on turkey.

A menu obtained by Business Insider through the Federal Bureau of Prisons shows that a turkey roast, a non-meat option of hot and sour tofu, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, cranberry sauce, gravy, dinner rolls, and assorted holiday pie will be served for lunch on Thursday at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Combs has been locked up at the infamous federal facility since his September arrest and indictment on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The wealthy hip-hop mogul has denied the charges against him and has made several unsuccessful attempts to be released on bail ahead of his criminal trial scheduled for May.

Thanksgiving Day jailhouse dinner of PB&J

Combs and the more than 1,000 other people housed at the facility — who include crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried — will also be offered a Thanksgiving Day breakfast of fruit, cereal, pastries, and skim milk as well as a dinner option of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, potato chips, whole wheat bread, and more fruit, according to the menu.

"It's not top-grade food," Sam Mangel, a former federal inmate turned prison consultant, told Business Insider. "It's not spoiled or rancid, but it's leftovers, or food very close to its expiration dates."

Mangel, who says he has worked with five people currently detained at the Brooklyn jail, including Bankman-Fried, told BI that the Thanksgiving turkey spread, will be served at 11 a.m. and will feature only sliced or "pressed" turkey meat for security reasons.

"A bone from a turkey leg can be fashioned into a knife," said Mangel. "At an MDC, or detention center, where there are all levels of security mixed together, they're not going to put turkey bones into an inmate's hands."

By 12:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving, detainees can expect to be handed a bag with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich inside for dinner later on, Mangel said.

"And then all the kitchen staff go home early," he said.

Commissary seasonings help with flavor

Combs and others at the jail will have to use plastic "sporks" and the same plain plastic dishes as any other day when chowing down on the Thanksgiving grub, Mangel said, adding that there will be no Turkey Day decor.

People detained there, the prison consultant said, often get creative with their meals, buying seasonings and cheese from the commissary to add some flavor to the meat.

"They'll make it into burritos, or nachos, or a wrap," said Mangel.

Combs is being held in the specialized housing unit of the jail, which is separate from the general population.

A source told BI in September that Bankman-Fried and Combs were bunking in the same dormitory. Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this year after a jury found him guilty of all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. He is appealing his conviction.

Combs, Bankman-Fried, who had been on a vegan diet, and a small group of others being housed in the same jail unit will likely share their Thanksgiving meal together, Mangel said.

"When it comes to the holidays, you'd be surprised," Mangel told BI. "The guys do tend to become very sullen, and they commiserate with each other."

Attorneys for Combs and Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BI for this story.

• Donald Trump's sentencing in his New York hush-money case has been officially put off.
• The sentencing in the criminal case was scheduled for Tuesday next week.
• The judge overseeing the case also granted Trump's request to file a motion to dismiss.

President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing in his New York criminal case will not move forward next week, a Manhattan judge ruled Friday.

The sentencing in the former and future president's hush-money case had been on the calendar for Tuesday.

Justice Juan Merchan of the New York Supreme Court granted a stay of the sentencing in his ruling, as well as Trump's request to file a motion to dismiss the case.

Merchan ordered that Trump's motion was due by December 2 and that prosecutors should respond by December 9.

"In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned," Steven Cheung, Trump's spokesperson and incoming White House communications director, told Business Insider.

"President Trump won a landslide victory as the American People have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases," he added. "All of the sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed and we are focused on Making America Great Again."

Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult-film actor Stormy Daniels.

Since Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, his sentencing date had remained on hold, with his lawyers arguing for a dismissal.

In a court filing last week, Manhattan's district attorney, Alvin Bragg, accepted a delay to Trump's sentencing but made it clear that his office would fight to keep the case alive.

Bragg wrote in the court filing to the judge that one "non-dismissal option" would be to defer the sentencing "until after the end of Defendant's upcoming presidential term."

"The People believe that the Court should set a motion schedule for Defendant's forthcoming motion to dismiss, which the People intend to oppose," the filing said, adding: "The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency, and acknowledge that Defendant's inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions."

• Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged in a massive bribery scheme.
• US prosecutors allege he and his execs bribed Indian government officials to secure energy contracts.
• Adani and his executives convinced US investors to buy bonds on false promises, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors brought bribery charges against billionaire Gautam Adani, one of the richest people in India, alleging the business magnate and seven of his senior executives paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to the Indian government and hid them from US investors.

New York prosecutors allege in an indictment that Adani and his executives promised more than $250 million in bribes to win solar energy contracts from the Indian government between 2020 and 2024.

Those contracts, according to federal prosecutors, were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over roughly a 20-year period.

Prosecutors allege that Adani personally met with an Indian government official on several occasions in order to advance the elaborate scheme.

In a parallel action, the SEC on Wednesday charged Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.

"As alleged, Gautam and Sagar Adani induced US investors to buy Adani Green bonds through an offering process that misrepresented not only that Adani Green had a robust anti-bribery compliance program but also that the company's senior management had not and would not pay or promise to pay bribes," a statement from Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in part.

Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, is estimated to be worth more than $85 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The company and the other defendants named in the indictment did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment. Attorneys for Adani could not immediately be reached.

Adani and his executives convinced US investors to buy bonds in one of the companies using false promises, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors say in the indictment that the false statements and misrepresentations that Adani, his nephew, and Adani Green Energy Limited executive Vneet Jaain made and caused others to make "induced investors to purchase bonds and financial institutions to lend money pursuant to terms and at prices that did not account for the true risk associated with the transactions."

During the course of the scheme, prosecutors say that Adani and his executives frequently discussed their alleged corrupt efforts on an electronic messaging app and extensively documented them.

For example, prosecutors say that Sagar Adani used his cell phone to log specific details of the bribes that were promised to government officials.

Prosecutors also said that another defendant, Rupesh Agarwal, sent around Powerpoint and Excel documents that summarized various options for paying and concealing bribe payments.

• Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing five new sex assault lawsuits, including one involving a minor.
• One lawsuit alleges Combs sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl at one of his famed white parties.
• Combs' attorney denied the allegations, calling the lawsuits "publicity stunts" by attorney Tony Buzbee.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing five new sex assault lawsuits, including one that accuses the hip-hop mogul of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at one of his famed Fourth of July white parties in the Hamptons.

The plaintiff, now an adult only identified in court papers as "Jane Doe" from Texas, alleges in the lawsuit that as a teenage model she wound up at Combs' July 4, 2004 white-themed A-list bash at his Hamptons mansion.

"The event was lavishly decorated, featured live music performances, and boasted top-tier food and beverages — an atmosphere of opulence and luxury, full of celebrities," the lawsuit, filed late Tuesday in New York federal court, says. "Many unsuspecting individuals, like Plaintiff, were recruited to attend these parties."

The woman alleges that while at the party, she was drugged through a laced drink and ultimately lost consciousness.

"When she awoke, Plaintiff's underwear was missing, and she felt throbbing pains in her vaginal and anal areas," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges that at some point Combs and two of his bodyguards approached the then-teen and threatened her.

"Combs told Plaintiff that she would be in danger if she spoke about what had occurred, stating that he 'ran New York and would ruin her,'" the lawsuit says, adding, "At this point, Plaintiff recognized that at least Combs had sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. She feared for her life."

The lawsuit does not say how the plaintiff was able to determine Combs was the person who assaulted her.

Erica Wolff, an attorney for Combs, denied the accusations in the lawsuits in a statement to Business Insider on Wednesday. She slammed the Texas attorney behind the latest batch of suits and a slew of others that have been filed against the "I'll Be Missing You" rapper.

"As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process," said Wolff. "In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor."

Tony Buzbee's law firm has brought more than 20 lawsuits against Combs

Following Combs' September arrest and indictment on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said at a press conference that his firm is representing 120 accusers with sexual misconduct claims against Combs.

Since October, Buzbee's firm has filed more than 20 lawsuits on behalf of anonymous male and female plaintiffs against Combs, with some alleging the drugging and raping of minors. Two of those lawsuits allege that sexual attacks happened at Combs' 1998 and 2006 white parties.

The five new lawsuits lodged this week against Combs, who remains in jail, were among those filed by Buzbee and his firm.

In one of those lawsuits, an unnamed man from Florida alleges he was drugged and raped by Combs at a 2022 house party in Miami where many of the 50 partygoers were "recognizable public figures." The plaintiff said as he lost consciousness, Combs was "wearing a disturbing smile" and told him, "this is what you want."

An unnamed woman alleges in a separate lawsuit that in 2001, when she was 18 years old, she was drugged and ordered by Combs to perform oral sex on his bodyguards and then on him inside a limousine after attending a Halloween party at a Manhattan club.

Another unnamed man alleges in a lawsuit filed this week that in 2001, as an actor auditioning for a role in one of Combs' music videos, he was drugged, anally raped by Combs, and orally raped by a member of his entourage in a New York City hotel room.

The plaintiff, like several others, accuses Combs of using his power in the industry and prominence as a hip-hop mogul to lure him into his orbit.

Another male plaintiff alleges in one of the lawsuits filed this week that in 2022 at a New York City party hosted by Combs, he was drugged and sodomized by Combs.

"Plaintiff, in a state of shock and confusion, forcefully fought Combs off and fled the room, making his way to a nearby bathroom," the lawsuit says.

Buzbee said in a statement posted to his Instagram on Tuesday that he expects to file cases weekly "naming Mr. Combs and others as defendants as we continue to gather evidence and prepare the filings."

Meanwhile, a mystery celebrity accused Buzbee in a lawsuit this week of orchestrating an extortion plot meant to destroy his reputation.

"With Combs behind bars, and payment unlikely to be forthcoming any time soon, Defendants devised a scheme to obtain payments through the use of coercive threats from anyone with any ties to Combs," Monday's lawsuit against Buzbee says.

Buzbee said the lawsuit was "not only without legal merit," but also "laughable."

Wolff, Combs' attorney, told BI on Wednesday, "The extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs."

• An anonymous celebrity has sued attorney Tony Buzbee, accusing him of an extortion plot.
• Buzbee represents clients in sex abuse lawsuits against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
• The Texas-based lawyer slammed the lawsuit as "not only without legal merit," but also "laughable."

A mystery celebrity has accused the high-profile Texas attorney who is representing dozens of clients in sex abuse lawsuits against Sean "Diddy" Combs of orchestrating an extortion plot meant to destroy his reputation.

The plaintiff, identified only as "John Doe," alleges in a newly filed lawsuit that attorney Tony Buzbee and his law firm are "shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him or else publicly file wildly false horrific allegations against him."

The plaintiff's lawyer identified him in court papers as a "celebrity and public figure" who lives in Los Angeles. The plaintiff says in the lawsuit that Buzbee and his namesake firm have "threatened to unleash entirely fabricated and malicious" sexual assault allegations against him that include multiple accusations of the rape of a minor if he "refuses to comply with their demands."

"These baseless accusations are nothing more than a weapon in a calculated plot to destroy Plaintiff's high-profile reputation for profit, despite the complete absence of any factual basis for such claims," says the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court by the high-powered law firm Quinn Emanuel.

The lawsuit also alleges that Buzbee and his firm have an "established pattern of making threats and then using third parties to contact the extortion victim, thereby acting as puppet masters, orchestrating their extortion plots from behind the scenes."

In a statement to Business Insider, Buzbee slammed the lawsuit against him and his Houston-based firm, the Buzbee Law Firm, as "not only without legal merit," but also "laughable."

"It is obvious that the frivolous lawsuit filed against my firm is an aggressive attempt to intimidate or silence me and ultimately my clients," Buzbee said. "That effort is a gross miscalculation."

Following Combs' September arrest and indictment on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, Buzbee said at a press conference that his firm is representing 120 accusers with sexual misconduct claims against Combs and promised to file a wave of lawsuits against the "I'll Be Missing You" rapper.

Buzbee said the cases will also include allegations against other celebrities.

Since October, Buzbee's firm has filed more than a dozen lawsuits on behalf of anonymous Jane and John Doe plaintiffs against Combs, with some alleging the drugging and raping of minors.

One of those lawsuits accuses Combs of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards as two other unnamed celebrities watched. The lawsuit also alleges that one of those celebrities raped the girl.

Combs, who remains locked up in a Brooklyn jail, has vehemently denied the federal charges against him, as well as any sexual misconduct accusations that have been lodged against him in lawsuits. His attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

"With Combs behind bars, and payment unlikely to be forthcoming any time soon, Defendants devised a scheme to obtain payments through the use of coercive threats from anyone with any ties to Combs," Monday's lawsuit against Buzbee says.

The lawsuit says that in November, Buzbee made written "Extortion Demands" to the mystery celebrity plaintiff, which contained false allegations of "vile conduct" by him. The plaintiff was characterized in the letter as having been friends with Combs since the two often attended similar celebrity events, the lawsuit says.

The "Extortion Demands" alleged that the plaintiff raped multiple minors who had been drugged at Combs' parties, says the lawsuit, which accuses Buzbee and his firm of threatening to "take a different course" if the plaintiff did not commit to a "confidential mediation" to resolve the matter.

"Plaintiff presently faces a gun to his head—either repeatedly pay an exorbitant sum of money to stop Defendants from the wide publication of wildly false allegations of sexual assault that would subject Plaintiff to opprobrium and irreparably harm Plaintiff's reputation, family, career and livelihood, or else face the threat of an untold number of civil suits and financial and personal ruin," the lawsuit continues.

The plaintiff claims Buzbee and his firm are engaging in a "cynical extortion scheme that is dressed up in vindicating victims of actual sexual abuse."

Buzbee said in his statement to BI that his firm, on behalf of two clients alleging sexual assault, sent a standard demand letter to a New York lawyer he says represents an "alleged perpetrator and potential defendant."

"The letters were sent seeking a confidential mediation in lieu of filing a lawsuit," Buzbee said. "No amount of money was included in the demand letters. No threats were made. The demand letters sent are no different than the ones routinely sent by lawyers across the country in all types of cases."

Buzbee said in his statement that he and his clients won't be "silenced or intimidated" and vowed to move forward with filing a lawsuit.

"Since our professional efforts at resolution obviously have failed, we will instead disclose the demand letters we sent at the time we file suit," said Buzbee. "Abuse of the legal system unfortunately runs rampant. The lawsuit filed against my firm is a prime example of that. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. I have confidence that with full public disclosure all of this will sort itself out."