• Attorney Tony Buzbee accused Jay-Z's Roc Nation of trying to flip his clients to sue his firm.
• Buzbee is representing a woman who accused Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs of rape.
• Roc Nation said Buzbee's lawsuit is a distraction and a "sham."

The legal fight between Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and attorney Tony Buzbee is heating up.

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Buzbee, the attorney representing a woman who accused Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs of rape, accused Carter's Roc Nation of using "shadowy operatives" to solicit Buzbee's former clients to flip and sue him.

"These folks have stooped to a new low to try to intimidate the lawyers of the Buzbee Law Firm from doing their important work. This conduct was specifically targeted at our firm so we would not pursue cases related to the Diddy litigation," Buzbee said in a statement to Business Insider. "But, we will not be bullied or intimidated."

Buzbee's lawsuit — which was filed in Harris County, Texas, on behalf of a former client of Buzbee's firm and includes allegations of barratry and conspiracy — accused Roc Nation of financing the scheme, and other defendants, including two legal firms, an attorney, and an investigator, of orchestrating and executing it.

"Unfortunately for the Defendants, their agents are not very smart, or careful," Buzbee's lawsuit said.

Buzbee's lawsuit said the defendants impersonated Texas state officials and "flashed fake badges."

In one case, he said they "offered as much as $10,000 to a former client of the Buzbee Law Firm to sue the firm."

A spokesperson for Roc Nation said in a statement that Buzbee's suit was merely a distraction.

"Tony Buzbee's baloney lawsuit against ROCNATION is nothing but another sham. It's a pathetic attempt to distract and deflect attention. This sideshow won't change the ultimate outcome and true justice will be served soon," the spokesperson said.

Buzbee's accusations come after a woman identified in court papers only as Jane Doe filed a civil case against Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs, accusing the two of raping her at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards when she was 13 years old. Buzbee is representing her.

Carter vehemently denied Doe's allegations, which come while Combs faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges, along with lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct. Combs remains in jail while he awaits his trial.

In Carter's denial, he called Buzbee a "deplorable human."

"I promise you I have seen your kind many times over. I'm more than prepared to deal with your type," Carter wrote in a statement on his company Roc Nation's X account, addressing Buzbee directly.

The initial lawsuit didn't name Carter, referring to him instead as "Celebrity A."

Before naming Carter, Buzbee reached out to him to propose Doe and Carter mediate the case, the lawyer previously told Business Insider. Buzbee said Carter responded with "an utterly frivolous lawsuit" and by "orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation" against Buzbee and his legal team.

Since Doe's lawsuit was filed, critical questions have emerged about some of her allegations. Following an interview with the woman and her father, who she said drove her home on the night of her alleged assault, NBC News reported inconsistencies in the story.

Her father, for example, told the outlet that he didn't remember picking her up that night.

When asked about other inconsistencies, she told the outlet she had made "mistakes" but stood by the brunt of her allegations.

In a court filing Wednesday, an attorney for Carter argued that the "allegations are baseless and fatally contradicted" by the woman and her father's statements to NBC. Carter's attorney is seeking an order to show cause — which seeks an explanation as to why the inconsistencies aren't enough for Carter to be "dismissed" from the lawsuit accusing him of rape.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) or visit its website to receive confidential support.

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."

• Jamie Foxx pokes fun at Sean "Diddy" Combs in his new comedy special, "What Had Happened Was."
• "The internet said that Puffy tried to kill me," he says. "I know what you're thinking. 'Did he?'"
• "Hell naw," Foxx continues. "I left them parties early. I was out by 9."

In his new comedy special, Jamie Foxx makes time amid emotional revelations about his recent health scare and spot-on celebrity impressions to poke fun at Sean "Diddy" Combs, who's awaiting trial in jail on three felony charges including sex trafficking.

In the opening minutes of "What Had Happened Was," which premiered Tuesday on Netflix, Foxx jokes about the conspiracy theories that surrounded his 2023 hospitalization and subsequent withdrawal from the public eye. (These included theories that he was secretly dead and others that he'd been cloned.)

In the special, Foxx reveals that he suffered a stroke while he was filming a Netflix movie in Atlanta.

"Atlanta saved my life. The internet was trying to kill me, though. The internet said that Puffy tried to kill me," Foxx says, referring to the stage name Combs used in the '90s. "That's what the internet was saying. I know what you're thinking. 'Did he?'"

Foxx waits a beat for laughter and then assures the crowd that he's not connected to Combs' legal troubles.

"Hell naw, n****. I left them parties early. I was out by 9," Foxx says. "'Something don't look right, n****. It's slippery in here, n****."

Throughout his career as a rapper and founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs was famous for throwing lavish events with star-studded guest lists, including annual white parties in the Hamptons.

Back in 2018, Foxx told Stephen Colbert that he "started hanging out with Puff back in the day" and he would "watch him throw parties." Foxx also joked that Combs showed up to one of his own parties with the FBI in tow.

"Puff was always sort of dangerous," Foxx said, "so he had all kinds of people following him."

In recent months, Combs has been sued by multiple people for sexual assault and rape, many of whom alleged they were attacked at these parties. Other celebrities have been named as co-defendants in various lawsuits, most recently Jay-Z.

Both Combs and Jay-Z have denied all allegations.

In September, Combs was arrested and indicted on racketeering and sex-trafficking charges by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

Prosecutors allege Combs orchestrated sexual performances called "Freak Offs," described in his indictment as "elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded."

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the indictment, and his lawyers have said he will fight the charges at a trial scheduled to begin May 5.

There's been no suggestion from prosecutors that other celebrities will be charged in the case, though US Attorney Damian Williams said in response to a question from Business Insider that "nothing is off the table."

Later in the comedy special, Foxx discusses his post-stroke recovery and brushes with death, telling the audience that he didn't walk toward the clichéd light — but he did see a tunnel.

"It was hot in that tunnel. I thought, shit, have I gone to the wrong place?" he jokes. "I looked at the end of the tunnel and I thought I saw the devil saying, 'Come on.' Or was that Puffy?"

He then cracks a joke about the March raids on Combs' Florida and California mansions, during which law enforcement said they seized "various Freak Off supplies" that included narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.

"If that was Puffy he had a flaming bottle of Johnson and… no, I'm just kidding," Foxx said.

A rep for Combs did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.

• In the past year, Sean Combs has been hit by dozens of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse, as well as a federal indictment.
• Some suits include allegations against other known figures — but not all are listed as defendants.
• These are the stars associated with the accusations piling up against Diddy.

The lawsuits against Sean Combs, more commonly known as Diddy, continue to pile up.

Since his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura sued Combs in November 2023 accusing him of rape, abuse, and drugging, more than 30 civil suits have been filed against the hip-hop mogul.

In September, Combs was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Combs and his lawyers have denied all the allegations against him.

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

"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney's Office," Marc Agnifilo, Combs' lawyer, said in a statement to Business Insider following the federal charges.

While the federal indictment lists only Combs as a defendant, it refers to some of his employees and associates as members of the criminal enterprise he led. The series of civil suits that have hit him over the past year have also identified several powerful and wealthy people in Combs' orbit.

Some are outright accused by plaintiffs of wrongdoing — whether that be witnessing the abuse and not stopping it or providing drugs to Combs. Others — such as Prince Harry, Nicki Minaj, or Usher — are simply mentioned in passing and not accused of any wrongdoing.

In one of the most recent and serious lawsuits, an anonymous woman accuses Combs and Shawn Carter, known as Jay-Z, of drugging and raping her when she was 13 years old.

Here are the well-known people linked to the accusations against Combs.

Jay-Z

In December, an unnamed plaintiff filed an amended complaint accusing Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, and Combs of drugging and raping her in 2000, when she was 13 years old.

The incident occurred at a house party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, the amended complaint alleges.

The complaint was initially filed in October and referred to Jay-Z as "Celebrity A." A third celebrity — as yet unnamed — "stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor," the complaint says.

Carter has strongly denied the allegations.

R&B singer Aaron Hall

Aaron Hall, an R&B singer who was part of the group Guy, was named as a defendant in a complaint filed against Combs last November in the New York Supreme Court ahead of the expiration date for New York's Adult Survivors Act, which provided a one-year window in which people could bring cases of sexual assault outside the typical statute of limitations.

The plaintiff, named Liza Gardner, accuses Combs and Hall of sexually assaulting her and a friend in Hall's apartment after a music-industry event hosted by MCA Records in 1990 when she was 16 years old. She says that Combs "coerced" her into having sex with him and that afterward, "Hall barged into the room, pinned her down, and forced" her to have sex with him too.

The plaintiff also alleges that Combs found her at her home and choked her until she passed out; he was worried his girlfriend would find out about the incident, the complaint says.

In one YouTube video cited in the complaint, Hall says in an interview that "Puffy" — what Combs was known as in the 1990s — had seen him have sex.

Hall couldn't be reached for comment. His lawyer wasn't yet identified in court documents as of April 8.

Music producer Harve Pierre

The music producer Harve Pierre was named as a defendant in two lawsuits filed against Combs ahead of the Adult Survivors Act's expiration date. Both lawsuits were filed anonymously, one in the New York Supreme Court and the other in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York, with the plaintiff listed as Jane Doe on both documents. He was also listed as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Dawn Richard.

Pierre was Combs' first employee at Bad Boy Records and the president of his Bad Boy Entertainment, and he worked with artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans.

In the first complaint, filed in November 2023, a former employee of Bad Boy who worked as Pierre's assistant accuses Pierre of using his position of power "to groom, exploit, and sexually assault her." The complaint says Combs and his companies enabled the abuse.

In a second lawsuit filed in December 2023, the plaintiff alleges that when she was 17 in 2003, Combs, Pierre, and an unnamed third defendant gang raped and sex trafficked her. Specifically, she alleges that Pierre smoked crack cocaine and then forced her to give him oral sex before bringing her from Detroit to New York City on a private jet.

The complaint alleges that in New York, at a studio owned by Combs, the defendants provided the plaintiff with drugs and alcohol before raping her.

Pierre's lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment from BI. He has denied the accusations made in both complaints.

"This is a tale of fiction. I have never participated in, witnessed, nor heard of anything like this, ever. These disgusting allegations are false and a desperate attempt for financial gain," he said in a statement obtained by TMZ.

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

An amended complaint filed in March in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York by Rodney Jones Jr. — a music producer who goes by Lil Rod — lists Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant. Jones accuses Gooding of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Specifically, Jones accuses Combs of grooming him to "pass him off" to Gooding. The complaint says the two were left alone in a makeshift studio on a yacht rented by Combs.

There, Gooding began "touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones' legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders," the complaint alleges.

The actor previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of forcible touching.

Gooding's attorney didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Justin Dior Combs

While not necessarily a celebrity in his own right, Justin Dior Combs — Combs' 30-year-old son — is a defendant in Jones' amended complaint in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York.

In a wide-ranging list of allegations, Jones accuses Justin Combs of soliciting sex workers and underaged girls, as well as engaging in "freak-offs."

He also says the younger and older Combs were the only other people present in the room when "G," a friend of his, was shot at a recording studio — implying one of them shot G.

Justin Combs was at Combs' Los Angeles home when it was raided by feds and was seen handcuffed on the lawn outside, though he wasn't arrested.

Justin Combs' lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said on his radio show, "Beyond the Legal Limit," that the complaint was "utterly bonkers."

"It's clearly written in an effort to get as much publicity as possible, not only for the case but for the lawyer whose name I don't even remember, literally some maniac," he said.

Lichtman didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Jacob the Jeweler

Jacob Arabo, better known as Jacob the Jeweler, is named as a defendant in a complaint filed against Combs by Adria English in July.

In the lawsuit, English accuses Combs of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sex trafficking. The complaint alleges that she worked at Combs' famous white parties as a go-go dancer for years and that, at at least one of the parties, he forced her to have sex with Arabo, one of the party guests.

"Plaintiff, fearing not only her safety, but her and her then-boyfriend's job security, did as instruct and went with Defendant Jacob where she engaged in forced sexual intercourse with Defendant Jacob at the demand and behest of Defendant Combs. Plaintiff knew refusing Defendant Combs demands was not an option," the complaint says.

The complaint also says English saw Arabo "solicit and ingest narcotics." In a photograph included in the complaint, English and Arabo are together.

Arabo has been a character on the hip-hop scene for decades, with early clients including Notorious B.I.G. and Combs. Jay-Z raps about him in Beyoncé's "Upgrade U," as does Kanye West in Rick Ross' "Live Fast, Die Young."

"I really wanted to make statement pieces," he told BI in 2016 about the flashy pieces that became his signature.

"They would stand there waiting for me to be available to see them to show them jewelry. A line of people waiting," he added of his A-list clientele. "Before you know, you have Michael Jackson as a client, you have David Beckham, you have Madonna, you have all these celebrities."

The complaint against him is not Arabo's first run-in with the law. In 2006, he was arrested on money-laundering charges. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison for falsifying records and making false statements, CBS reported.

Arabo didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Rapper Yung Miami

Yung Miami, a member of City Girls, is mentioned in Jones' amended complaint, filed in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. She isn't a defendant, nor is she accused of sexual misconduct.

She's listed as being a part of Combs' sex-trafficking operation and accused of bringing Combs tuci, a drug sometimes called "pink cocaine," on a private jet.

The complaint says she was retained on a monthly stipend as one of Combs' sex workers. It also alleges that her cousin, named as Jane Doe 1, assaulted Jones, forcibly giving him oral sex without consent.

A representative for Yung Miami didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

DJ and producer Stevie J

Jones alleges in his amended complaint filed in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York that the Grammy winner Stevie J, Combs' longtime collaborator, recruited sex workers and participated in Combs' "freak-offs," though he doesn't name Stevie J as a defendant.

Jones accuses Combs of instructing Stevie J to teach him "the type of sex workers to solicit, and way to solicit them."

Jones also accuses Stevie J of sending threatening messages when Jones publicly asked Combs to pay him for his work on Combs' "The Love Album."

The complaint also says Combs used his connection to Stevie J — Jones' "idol" — to pressure Jones into sex.

"I've never seen my man doing anything foul like they talking about," Stevie J told TMZ earlier this month, adding: '"I've never seen it. I've known him for 29 years."

His attorney didn't reply to a request for comment from BI.

Singer Kalenna Harper

Kalenna Harper was a member of the group Diddy — Dirty Money, along with Dawn Richard and Combs.

In Richard's complaint, she says she and Harper were at Combs' home, where they witnessed him yell at and choke Ventura before throwing a "scalding hot pan of eggs" at her and dragging her up the stairs.

Richard's complaint says that Harper led her out of the house but that the two of them later spoke to Ventura and encouraged her to leave the relationship. Combs responded by threatening them, the complaint says.

The complaint also says that Combs forced Richard and Harper to work for days on end without breaks to sleep or eat and that the two weren't properly compensated for appearances.

In response to the lawsuit, Harper posted on Instagram.

"While I fully respect Dawn's right to recount her experiences, l want to emphasize that her account reflects her personal perspective and should not be interpreted as a universal truth applicable to everyone involved," she wrote in an Instagram story, according to People.

"It's important to understand that while I was present in some of the same professional settings mentioned, many of the allegations and incidents described in this suit are not representative of my experiences, and some do not align with my own truth."

Harper was also mentioned by federal prosecutors during Tuesday's bond hearing, during which prosecutors argued that Combs shouldn't be released ahead of trial.

The prosecutor, discussing Combs' contact with witnesses, said that between September 10, the day Richard filed the lawsuit, and September 14, the day Harper made her statement on Instagram, Combs called or texted Harper 58 times.

Interscope Records cofounder Jimmy Iovine

Richard's complaint also includes mention of Jimmy Iovine, the cofounder of Interscope Records and Beats Electronics.

The complaint recounts a dinner party held by Combs in the months leading up to a deal between his Bad Boy Entertainment and Iovine's Interscope Geffen A&M Records.

The complaint says that at the dinner, in front of Iovine, as well as the dinner guests Ne-Yo and Usher, Ventura and Combs had an argument that resulted in Combs punching her in the stomach, "causing her to double over in visible pain, crying."

"Even after Mr. Iovine watched Mr. Combs commit a violent assault in front of numerous high-profile witnesses, the Bad Boy-Interscope deal took place and remained in effect, providing Mr. Combs with immense financial rewards and enabling him to commit further acts of violence without fear of repercussions," the complaint says.

Usher, Ne-Yo, and Iovine didn't reply to a request for comment from BI about the allegations in Richard's complaint.

Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge

The CEO of Universal Music Group and father-in-law to Sofia Richie, Lucian Grainge, was originally listed as a defendant in Jones' amended complaint filed in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York, along with Universal Music Group and its label Motown Records. He has since been removed.

He was initially accused of aiding and abetting Combs, specifically in racketeering and sex trafficking. Universal's Motown Records had a licensing agreement with Combs' Love Records.

The complaint says that as CEO, Grainge "had a duty to ensure that the financial support they provided to Sean Combs and Love Records was not being used for sex workers, drugs, and laced alcohol."

Attorneys for Grainge filed a motion to dismiss, in which they called the accusations "offensively false." In a sworn statement to the court, Grainge called the accusations "completely untrue and absurd" and said he planned to "pursue both plaintiffs and his counsel for having made such false accusations."

Grainge also noted that he's the CEO of a "multi-national public company" — and said he wasn't involved in the "day-to-day operations" of the company's "thousands of agreements."

In a statement to BI when the lawsuit was first filed, Grainge's attorney Donald S. Zakarin called the complaint "offensively reckless" and said they would seek legal repercussions against Jones' attorney.

"The plaintiff has now attempted to amend his claims against Sir Lucian, removing the original set of outrageous falsehoods related to Sir Lucian, replacing them with wholly contradictory new falsehoods that are equally absurd," he said. "Not only will we demonstrate the offensive falsity of these claims, but we will seek recovery of every penny of cost and damage caused by their assertion."

In May, Jones' attorney dropped the claims against Grainge, Motown Records, and Universal Music Group with prejudice — which means they cannot be refiled at a later date.

"Based on my examination of all of the papers submitted in support of both motions to dismiss, which addressed the issues I had, I have concluded that there is no legal basis for the claims and allegations that were made against the UMG Defendants," Jones' attorney wrote.

October 16, 2024: This story has been updated with new details from a lawsuit.

• A new legal filing accuses Jay-Z of drugging and raping a 13-year-old in 2000.
• The rapper strongly denied the accusations, which come as part of a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
• Read hip-hop billionaire Jay-Z's full statement below.

Shawn Carter, better known as the rapper Jay-Z, has responded to a civil lawsuit that accuses him and Sean "Diddy" Combs of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.

The accusation, which comes from an unnamed plaintiff, is included in an amended complaint to a lawsuit originally filed in October that accuses the two hip-hop moguls of assaulting the girl at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Prior to the amended complaint, Carter was referred to as a "Celebrity A."

The amended complaint marks the first time that Carter has been accused in a lawsuit of any wrongdoing in conjunction with Combs.

Carter strongly denied the accusations in a statement on his company Roc Nation's X account.

The complaint comes as Combs remains behind bars, awaiting trial on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He also faces more than 30 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct.

He has denied any wrongdoing, and a lawyer for Combs has said he will not be making public statements on the case.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, who has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against Combs on behalf of unnamed plaintiffs, told Business Insider that he had attempted mediation with Carter prior to publishing his name.

Buzbee told Business Insider that before the filing of the amended complaint, he had sent a letter to Carter requesting that Carter and the plaintiff engage in mediation.

Carter's alleged response is detailed in the amended complaint.

"Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation against Plaintiff's lawyers, their families, employees and former associates in an attempt to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein," the complaint says. "Plaintiff chose to file this amendment as a result of the egregious conduct perpetuated by Carter."

"The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court," Buzbee told BI.

Read Carter's full statement below:

My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a "lawyer" named Tony Buzbee.

What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle.

No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!

These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!

Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?

These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.

This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!

I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times over. I'm more than prepared to deal with your type. You claim to be a marine?! Marines are known for their valor, you have neither honor nor dignity.

My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit.

My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.

You have made a terrible error in judgement thinking that all "celebrities" are the same. I'm not from your world. I'm a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don't play these types of games.

We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain.

Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.

I look forward to showing you just how different I am.

In response to Carter's denial, Buzbee told BI that the plaintiff never demanded money from Carter.

• Jay-Z was named in a new filing stemming from a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
• The alleged incident occurred in 2000 following MTV's Video Music Awards.
• The victim, who is not named, said she was underage when she was drugged and raped by both men.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has been accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in a new court filing stemming from a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The amended complaint, filed Sunday, says Combs and Carter assaulted the girl at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

"Another celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor," the amended complaint, which modifies an original complaint filed in October against Combs, reads. "Many others were present at the afterparty, but did nothing to stop the assault."

Carter was identified in the original complaint as "Celebrity A," the suit reads.

Before the filing of the amended complaint, Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the plaintiff — who is unidentified in the filing — had sent a letter to Carter requesting he and the plaintiff engage in mediation, Buzbee told Business Insider.

"Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation against Plaintiff's lawyers, their families, employees and former associates in an attempt to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein," the complaint reads.

"This effort was meant to scare Plaintiff and to discredit her counsel. That effort failed. Indeed, Plaintiff chose to file this amendment as a result of the egregious conduct perpetuated by Carter."

Buzbee told BI, "The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court."

Carter has been a longtime friend of Combs. Combs faces a series of sexual assault allegations, civil lawsuits, and federal sex trafficking charges and has previously vehemently denied the allegations against him.

On Sunday, after the allegations became public, Carter, through the X account of Roc Nation, his entertainment company, said in a statement that his lawyer was sent "blackmail" to pressure him into settling out of court for an undisclosed amount. Carter said the move had the "opposite effect" and instead made him want to expose his accusor "in a VERY public fashion."

"So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!" Carter's statement reads. "These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case."

Buzbee told Business Insider that the victim never demanded a penny from Carter.

"Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation," Buzbee said. "Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I'm very proud of her resolve."

The two hip-hop moguls, both 55, have created business empires, including Carter's label Roc-A-Fella Records and the streaming service Tidal, Combs' label Bad Boy Records, and partnerships with Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila.

Carter has an approximate net worth of $2.5 billion, Business Insider previously reported. Combs' business partnerships have dried up after the allegations against him, with Forbes estimating his net worth now to be about $90 million.

Attorneys for Carter and Combs did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• 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.

• Sean "Diddy" Combs could be released on bail for Thanksgiving.
• In fighting to keep him in, prosecutors say he's been making obstructionist statements from jail.
• On Monday, Combs' lawyers cited Donald Trump in saying defendants enjoy broad free-speech rights.

In fighting to be released on bail as early as Thanksgiving, Sean "Diddy" Combs is now turning for help to the one federal defendant more famous than himself: President-elect Donald Trump.

Combs' lawyers cited Trump on Monday in a legal brief meant to counter prosecutors' claim that he has improperly tried to influence prospective jurors in his sex-trafficking case through an online public relations campaign.

Combs' lawyers quote an appellate decision in Trump's DC election interference case, which asserted that defendants enjoy broad free-speech rights under the First Amendment.

"Only a significant and imminent threat to the administration of criminal justice will support restricting Mr. Trump's speech," the DC Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a decision from December that Combs' lawyers now quote.

Like Trump, Combs is a criminal defendant with the presumption of innocence, the rap mogul's lawyers wrote Monday.

That means Combs, like Trump or any other federal criminal defendant, has a greater constitutional claim than other trial participants — including his lawyers — "to criticize and speak out against the prosecution and the criminal trial process that seek to take away his liberty," Combs' eight-page filing says.

"Accordingly, the Court should apply Trump's heightened standard when considering Mr. Combs' speech here," the filing adds.

The defense team is responding to US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian, who last week asked both sides to explain why Combs' public communications from jail either do or do not constitute obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors argued last week that Combs has been orchestrating a PR campaign while locked up at a Brooklyn detention facility, where he is awaiting a May 5 trial date in federal court in Manhattan.

In one example prosecutors cited, Combs urged family members to create an Instagram post in which they display support for him while celebrating his 55th birthday.

Combs used a messaging app forbidden by the Bureau of Prisons, ContactMeASAP.com, in arranging for the post, prosecutors argued last week.

Combs ignored his own lawyers' warnings in doing so, telling them, "I don't care. It's my birthday," lead prosecutor Christy Slavick had argued in a bail hearing Friday.

In addition to the texting app, Combs used at least eight other inmates' phone accounts and had third parties patched into his phone calls, all of which is forbidden by prison rules, Slavik told the judge.

These violations were committed with "the intent to subvert the integrity of these proceedings," in ways that go beyond a simple "PR campaign" to burnish his image, she told the judge.

"He is saying I want to, quote, 'reach for this jury. I just need one,'" Slavik told the judge Friday, quoting from Combs' jailhouse communications.

On Monday, Combs' lawyers told the judge that he has the right to fight back against the barrage of "false and outrageous claims" being made against him for months by "government agents, plaintiffs' attorneys, and others with questionable motives."

"This nonstop drumbeat of negative publicity has destroyed his reputation and will make it virtually impossible for him to receive a fair trial," they wrote.

"Mr. Combs is not required to sit idly by and acquiesce to all of this. He has a right to a fair trial and a constitutional right to speak out on his own behalf," they wrote.

The filing, signed by defense attorney Alexandra A. E. Shapiro, added that Combs has not disclosed false or non-private material, or done anything else improper.

"The government's arguments that asking his children to post birthday wishes on Instagram and that he is not entitled to publicly express his opinion that this prosecution is racially motivated are, quite simply, an unconstitutional effort to silence him," the lawyers wrote.

Prosecutors: You're no Trump

Prosecutors responded to Combs' filing by mid-afternoon Monday. They called Combs' claim that his conduct is protected by the First Amendment "baseless."

Combs' actions while in jail, "show a persistent, brazen effort to improperly interfere with this criminal case," prosecutors said in a 13-page filing.

Even as recently as Sunday — just one day ago — Combs used another inmate's ContactMeASAP account "to engage in unauthorized communications with family members from the MDC," the prosecution filing said, referring to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

As for the comparison to Trump, prosecutors noted that Combs is not running for president.

Trump's judges "faced the unique task of balancing the right of a current candidate for the presidency to speak publicly about his charges against the public's right in a fair trial," they wrote.

The same appellate decision Combs quotes from also sets limits, and certainly doesn't allow planting press statements "to obtain a trial prejudiced in his favor," prosecutors wrote. "Those same First Amendment interests are not at stake here.

Combs has enlisted his family members and other associates in attempts to plant negative stories about his accusers and channel payments to witnesses in his favor, prosecutors have alleged.

"These efforts are not protected by the First Amendment," prosecutors wrote Monday.

The judge told the parties on Friday that he would decide on Combs' latest bail application — his third — sometime this week.

The Trump decision cited by Combs said, "Mr. Trump is free to make statements criticizing the current administration, the Department of Justice, and the Special Counsel, as well as statements that this prosecution is politically motivated or that he is innocent of the charges against him."

The order was not made lightly, the December appellate decision added. "Mr. Trump is a former President and current candidate for the presidency, and there is a strong public interest in what he has to say," it said.

"But Mr. Trump is also an indicted criminal defendant, and he must stand trial in a courtroom under the same procedures that govern all other criminal defendants. That is what the rule of law means."

This story was updated to include details from a prosecution brief filed later Monday.

• On Friday, lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs asked a third judge to set him free on bail.
• Ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries won bail on sex-trafficking charges, Combs' lawyers noted.
• On Friday, prosecutors said that Combs' case is more like R. Kelly's than like Jeffries'.

Prosecutors compared Sean "Diddy" Combs to sex-trafficking convict R. Kelly during two hours of bail arguments in federal court in Manhattan on Friday.

The bail hearing, attended by Combs' children and his mother, ended with the judge promising a decision sometime next week on whether the rap entrepreneur can remain free on bail pending a trial scheduled for May 5. Combs has been jailed since his September 16 arrest.

Combs is asking to post a $50 million bond and to remain on home confinement in a three-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Prosecutors counter that Combs is continuing to obstruct justice by contacting witnesses and victims from jail, and can't be trusted to stop doing so if freed.

Over the past two weeks, Combs' lawyers have pointed to ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries — who was quickly freed on $10 million bail when arrested last month on federal sex-trafficking charges — in arguing that Combs, too, deserves bail.

Both Combs and Jeffries used the power of their brands and their wealth to force victims to participate in drug-fueled sex parties, federal prosecutors have alleged. Both men have pleaded not guilty and deny the allegations.

When defense lawyers raised the Jeffries case again on Friday, prosecutors said that the charges against Combs are more like the sex-trafficking charges faced by disgraced R&B singer Kelly and sex-cult leader Keith Raniere, neither of whom were granted bail pre-trial.

The "I Believe I Can Fly" singer is serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges in Brooklyn in 2021 and in Chicago last September.

Raniere, the former leader of the self-help organization-turned-sex-cult NXIVM, is serving a 120-year sentence after a federal jury in Brooklyn found him guilty of sex trafficking in 2019.

The former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO is 80 years old, halted his criminal behavior ten years ago, and suffered "certain other non-public health issues" that contributed to his getting bail, in contrast to the 55-year-old Combs, an assistant US attorney, Christy Slavik, told Combs' judge on Friday.

And like Combs, Kelly and Raniere continued a pattern of violence and intimidation until their arrest, Slavik alleged.

"These cases are much more comparable, your honor," she told US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian.

The judge asked both sides to submit one more set of written bail arguments on Friday, and said he'd issue a decision before week's end.

Also Friday, the judge asked defense attorney Marc Agnifilo why he said in court on Tuesday that prosecutors improperly possessed copies of Combs' handwritten notes that had been clearly labeled "Legal."

The word "Legal" had only been written on the notes after prosecutors received copies, the judge had pointed out. "As I sit here today, I'm not sure when 'Legal' was written on all of them," Agnifilo told the judge Friday, promising to look into the matter further.

A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office and an attorney for Jeffries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Combs, once one of hip-hop's most successful entrepreneurs, is accused of engaging since 2009 in a pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including during elaborate, days-long sex parties called "freak offs."

He has contended that the sexual behavior was consensual and that his accusers have a financial motive to implicate him.

• There's been a $30 million offer on Sean Combs' Los Angeles mansion.
• The home, listed for $61.5 million, was searched by the feds, who found "freak off" supplies there.
• The lowball offer comes from the same real estate investor who purchased Kanye West's Malibu house.

After more than two months on the market, Sean "Diddy" Combs' Los Angeles mansion has received an offer — and from someone who seems to have a penchant for buying up the homes of hip-hop moguls.

Bo Belmont, the founder of Belwood Investments, offered $30 million for the Holmby Hills mansion, according to a press release. That's less than half of its $61.5 million asking price. The firm has plans for "major renovations," it said in the release.

The real-estate agent representing Combs declined to comment about the offer to Business Insider.

Combs purchased the house in 2014 for $39 million. It is 17,000 square feet, sits on 1.3 acres, and features a wine cellar, gym, theater, basketball court, sauna, and swimming pool, according to the listing. The listing does not show any interior photographs of the home.

The home was searched in March by federal agents, who "seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant" from his residences, including this one, the indictment against Combs says.

The mansion is in one of Los Angeles' richest neighborhoods, known for its proximity to Beverly Hills and large lots. The Spelling Estate, just down the road, is on the market for $137.5 million.

The home was put on the market just weeks before Combs' September arrest on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied committing sexual assault.

"I want to remove the stigma and focus on the charming elegance of this remarkable property," Belmont said in the release.

Belmont's low-ball offer may not be entirely related to Diddy's legal woes. Luxury real estate in Los Angeles is currently experiencing a major slump, Beverly Hills agent Rochelle Atlas Maize told BI.

"Homes between $15 and $60 million are having a really difficult time," Maize said. "The list at $61.5 million is already kind of high."

Given Diddy's home's "dated" features, Maize estimates it is probably worth between $40 million and $50 million.

Still, the home is one of Combs' largest remaining liquid assets.

Since a series of civil lawsuits was filed against the musician last year, Diddy's business empire has taken hit after hit.

That makes his real estate assets increasingly important. In addition to his Los Angeles home, Combs owns a mansion on Miami's Star Island worth about $48 million, according to assessments submitted as part of a bail package. The home has been offered as collateral in Combs' requests to be released from jail.

Combs owns a private jet, too, which he is trying to offload.

Belwood made headlines earlier this year for purchasing Kanye West's gutted Malibu home, designed by starchitect Tadao Ando. The firm bought the house for $21 million, a significant discount on the asking price of $39 million.

The company allows individual investors to provide capital through an app to purchase properties. They become trustees on those properties until the homes are flipped and resold, at which point they get a piece of the profits. Through the app, individual investors can comment on the renovations.

Combs' home's reputation won't sink its value long-term, Maize said.

She pointed to another scandal-ridden Los Angeles home, the Menendez brothers' seven-bedroom Mediterranean-style villa in Beverly Flats, where the infamous 1989 murder of their parents took place.

The home languished for years on the market before finding a buyer in 1991. Maize, who was personally shopping for homes in Los Angeles at the time, said she wouldn't step foot near it.

"You couldn't give that house away, and now it's like the hottest ticket in town," Maize said, adding that crowds have formed outside the home following the release of Ryan Murphy's Netflix show "Monsters," which depicts the famous trial.

She predicts that the same turn-around will eventually happen for the Diddy mansion.

"It's all negative now, but the smart money knows it's always 'location, location, location,'" Maize said. "Somebody savvy will take the opportunity. It's not a bad play."

• Sean "Diddy" Combs is making his third application for bail in his Manhattan sex-trafficking case.
• In papers filed Thursday, Combs' lawyers cite ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries.
• Jeffries is free on bail on serial sex trafficking charges, so Combs should be too, his lawyers say.

In a third bid for bail, lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs argue that ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries has remained free pending his own federal sex-trafficking case — and so the rap mogul should be released pending trial, too.

Jeffries was quickly granted $10 million bail, without prosecution opposition, after his arrest four weeks ago on charges similar to those faced by Combs. Federal prosecutors allege that for decades, both men used their wealth and the power of their brands to coerce victims into participating in drug-fueled sex parties. Both men have denied the allegations.

Comparisons of Jeffries and Combs are promising to be a prominent part of bail arguments scheduled for Friday in Manhattan.

During Combs' last court date on Tuesday, US District Judge Arun Subramanian told prosecutors he is eager to hear their views on why the federal government agreed to bail in one case and not the other.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said she would be prepared to detail how the cases are highly unalike. On Friday morning, prosecutors submitted a two-page letter to the judge that broke down the differences between the two sex-trafficking defendants.

Unlike Jeffries, Combs is charged with racketeering for allegedly running a criminal enterprise "that included repeated acts of violence by Combs and his co-conspirators, including multiple acts involving kidnapping, arson, and forced labor," prosecutors wrote.

Also unlike Jeffries, Combs is accused of using firearms. "As recently as March 2024, firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, were recovered from Combs' residences," prosecutors wrote, referring to weapons seized via a search warrant executed on his Miami and Los Angeles homes.

Combs continues to obstruct justice by contacting witnesses and victims while in jail, prosecutors alleged in Friday's letter. And unlike the 80-year-old Jeffries, who has no criminal history, Combs "has been arrested and investigated multiple times for crimes of violence and obstruction."

Combs' legal team said in a letter sent to the judge Thursday that the two former fashion executives have similar indictments and are similarly accused of witness intimidation.

A third federal sex-trafficking defendant in an unrelated New York case was also allowed to post bail while fighting his case, lead attorney Marc Agnifilo wrote in the memo. That case involves an upstate New York man who remained free pending a January plea to federal sex-trafficking charges.

Prosecutors are fighting Combs' bail offer, which includes a $50 million bond collateralized by his Miami mansion, plus home confinement with round-the-clock monitoring.

Last month, a different set of federal prosecutors approved Jeffries' conditions of release, which "pale in comparison to the conditions proposed by Mr. Combs," his lawyers had argued last week.

Prosecutors agreed to Jeffries' release even after alleging that he and his codefendants used a security company to surveil and intimidate witnesses, "thereby securing their silence," Combs' lawyers argue.

Allegations of witness intimidation have impeded Combs' bail efforts since mid-September when he was arrested in a five-star Midtown Manhattan hotel, the Park Hyatt New York, where he had been staying in anticipation of turning himself in.

The tampering allegations have intensified in the past week, with prosecutors alleging that Combs has been reaching out to witnesses through intermediaries.

Last week, prosecutors alleged Combs' handwritten notes, photographed by federal prison officials during a late October raid, show he is using third parties to pay witnesses and to "find dirt" on victims. A grand jury is hearing evidence on those allegations, Slavik said. Combs' handwritten notes are at the center of a separate, ongoing battle between the defense and prosecutors.

Combs is being held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn as he awaits a May 5 trial date.

He is charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he faces a sentence of at least 15 years and as much as life in prison.

Prosecutors say that beginning in 2009 and continuing to the present day, Combs engaged in a pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including at elaborate, drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs."

Combs has countered that the sexual behavior detailed in the indictment was consensual and that his accusers have financial motives to implicate him.

Combs' two previous bids for bail were rejected by US District Court judges in September and October after prosecutors argued that the music entrepreneur used cash and coercion to foster a culture of fear and obedience in his inner circle.

Weapons, drugs, and supplies for future "freak offs" were recovered from Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles, prosecutors said.

"As two judges have already concluded based on the evidence in the record, the defendant poses serious risks of danger and obstruction to these proceedings," prosecutors wrote last week in opposing this latest bail bid.

Even in jail, Combs has "orchestrated social media campaigns that are, in his own words, aimed at tainting the jury pool," prosecutors wrote.

Combs has also "made efforts to publicly leak materials he views as helpful to his case; and contacted witnesses through third parties," they wrote.

A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office and an attorney for Jeffries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Agnifilo declined to comment on this story, saying that he is only speaking about the case in the courtroom and in legal filings.

This story was updated on November 22 to include a newly-filed response by federal prosecutors.

• Ana Gasteyer was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" when Sean "Diddy" Combs performed in 1998.
• She said on the "Las Culturistas" podcast that he "demanded a totally closed set."
• Will Ferrell crashed his rehearsal as a character named Ron, which made Combs "very uncomfortable."

Twenty-five years before Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested and charged with three felonies, including sex trafficking, he was a big enough star to call the shots at 30 Rock — or, at least, he tried, said former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Ana Gasteyer.

During the latest episode of the "Las Culturistas" podcast, hosted by comedian Matt Rogers and current "SNL" star Bowen Yang, Gasteyer described her impression of Combs when he was a musical guest on the late-night sketch comedy show in 1998.

Gasteyer said Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, "demanded a totally closed set" during rehearsals for his performance — something that rarely happened during her time on the show.

"You can tell like the five assholes in the six years that I was there when they would be like, 'So and so is in the building, everybody stays in your dressing rooms,' which is applicable if you're a presidential candidate," Gasteyer said. "But apart from that, really, it's my house."

Then-'SNL' star Will Ferrell crashed Diddy's set

Gasteyer recalled Will Ferrell, a fellow cast member at the time, crashing Combs' rehearsal of "Come with Me" (his 1998 duet with Jimmy Page that samples the 1975 Led Zeppelin song "Kashmir") while dressed as a character he invented called Ron.

Ferrell "marched right in" and played up the bit by "walking around, looking really disoriented," Gasteyer said, adding that Combs appeared not to take it well.

"It is the greatest thing that's ever happened," she continued, saying that Combs "really did not roll with it. He was very uncomfortable, but it was also just like the artifice of all that faux importance."

Indeed, Ferrell told the same story on a 2020 episode of the "SNL" web series "Stories From the Show," explaining that he crashed Combs' performance on a dare.

"We were in this writer's room watching Puff Daddy rehearse, and someone said, 'Ron should go up onstage,' and before everyone turned to see, I had sprinted out the door," Ferrell recalled. "It was supposed to be a closed set."

The episode includes footage of the incident: Combs rapping into a microphone while Ferrell — wearing sunglasses, a fake mustache, and an ascot — wanders around the stage behind him. "I didn't really know what to do once I got up there," Ferrell said. After Combs finished the song, they shook hands.

"I was always kind of awestruck at how serious the place can be at times," Ferrell added of his time on the show. "And I thought, 'Wait, this is a comedy show. We should be fucking shit up.'"

More recently, "SNL" poked fun at Combs' legal troubles, which now include more than a dozen sexual misconduct lawsuits, during their "Weekend Update" segment.

"It was announced that Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking case has been assigned to a new judge," Michael Che joked. "One that Diddy hopes is cool with rapes."

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and has denied all allegations. He is currently awaiting trial in New York's Metropolitan Detention Center.

Representatives for Gasteyer and Ferrell didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Diddy's defense attorney Marc Agnifilo declined to comment.

• The judge in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking case has questions about the rap mogul's notepads.
• Someone wrote "Legal" on the pads in the days after prison officials took evidence photos of them.
• The judge is asking if the word was added retroactively to implicate prosecutors.

The judge in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex-trafficking case is demanding answers for an apparent discrepancy concerning hand-written notes from the rap mogul's Brooklyn jail cell.

The jailhouse notes — which prosecutors allege show Combs attempted to pay witnesses — have been a point of heated contention this week.

At a hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, defense lawyers argued that Combs' white, cardboard-bound legal pads, photographed last month during a Bureau of Prisons raid, had the word "Legal" clearly handwritten on their top binders.

Prosecutors' possession of these photographs — despite this clear warning — may warrant dismissal of the entire case due to attorney-client privilege violations, Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo had argued, gesturing to the actual notepads on the defense table before him.

Addressing the judge in response, assistant US Attorney, Christy Slavik said the material is not privileged, adding, "It's not clear when that 'Legal' label was attached."

Now Combs' judge, US District Court Justice Arun Subramanian, who has been doing some sleuthing into the matter on his own, is weighing in.

"At the November 19, 2024 hearing, defense counsel presented the Court with an intact legal pad with "Legal" written on the binding, stating that the "Legal" label on this and the other pads showed that they were clearly protected by attorney-client privilege and should not be in the Government's possession," the judge wrote in an order late Wednesday night.

"The Court notes that the sealed exhibit to the Government's brief at Dkt. 72-1 includes photographs of two intact legal pads taken at the time of the BOP sweep. There is no writing on the binding of either pad," the judge wrote.

The parties have a bail hearing already scheduled for Friday, and at that hearing, the defense "should be prepared to give the Court further context on the "Legal" label that the Court was presented with at the November 19, 2024 hearing."

The defense must also "address why this label doesn't appear on the photographs in the Court's possession, and why it wasn't addressed in defendant's submission to the Court made a few hours before the November 19, 2024 hearing," the judge wrote.

A lawyer for Combs declined to comment Thursday morning. Combs has pleaded not guilty to a federal indictment alleging he engaged in a decadeslong pattern of sexual and physical violence against women, including during elaborate, dayslong sex parties known as "freak offs."

He has insisted through his lawyers that the sexual conduct in the indictment was consensual and that his accusers have financial incentive to implicate him.

A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Tuesday, Slavik said Combs' jailhouse notes are evidence in an ongoing grand jury investigation into potential obstruction of justice charges.

The notes, part of a "to do" list, include references to "the defendant paying a potential witness to, quote, 'find dirt' on a potential victim," Slavik told the judge.

The notes also include Combs' alleged plan for "following up with a paralegal to determine if a witness was paid off or not," she said.

• 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."

• In court on Tuesday, defense lawyers said a raid on Sean 'Diddy' Combs' jail cell was improper.
• Photos of Combs' handwritten to-do list should never have been given to prosecutors, a lawyer said.
• The lawyer said he may now seek dismissal of the case or recusal of the entire prosecution team.

Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs warned they may seek to have his sex-trafficking case dismissed because prosecutors caught a glimpse of a handwritten "to-do list" the rap mogul kept in his Brooklyn jail cell.

The to-do list— jotted by Combs on a white legal pad, to memorialize jailhouse conversations with his attorneys — was secretly photographed and then returned to his cell by Bureau of Prisons officials during a late October raid, a lawyer for Combs alleged during a hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday.

News that prosecutors had gained possession of the writings was first revealed this week.

The writing on 19 pages from the list, "are in the heartland of attorney-client material," attorney Marc Agnifilo told US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian, his voice angry, as Combs sat to his left, nodding "yes."

Before them on the defense table was a four-inch stack of folders and paperwork from Combs' cell, including the actual to-do list, Agnifilo told the judge. The lawyer waved some of the papers in the air as he spoke.

"The government now knows potential defense witnesses for a May 5 trial," well in advance of when witness names must be shared, the lawyer complained. "It's giving them an insight into the defense, and they should not have it."

During their turn to speak, prosecutors presented a far different description of the 19 pages, alleging instead that they are evidence of Combs' ongoing attempts to use his cash and influence to obstruct justice.

There were two highly incriminating errands among Combs' to-do list tasks, Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik told the judge at Tuesday's hearing — and neither are protected by attorney-client privilege, she said.

One "relates to the defendant paying a potential witness to, quote, 'find dirt' on a potential victim," Slavik alleged.

The second involves Combs' plan for "following up with a paralegal to determine if a witness was paid off or not," she said.

Indeed, if these two excerpts do somehow relate to attorney-client communications, "they would fall under the crime-fraud exemption," Slavik added. By law, attorney-client privilege does not protect communications involving criminal activity.

These to-do list excerpts are now key evidence in an ongoing grand jury investigation into possible obstruction of justice charges, and could become part of a potential new indictment, she said.

"I think it's clear that this material is outside the defense defending a criminal case," the prosecutor told the judge of the to-do list excerpts.

Combs built a multi-million-dollar fashion and recording empire and was one of the first, and richest, hip-hip entrepreneurs. He has been held without bail since mid-September, when he was arrested and accused of a decades-long pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including during elaborate parties called "freak-offs."

At the close of the hearing, the judge asked both sides to prepare written arguments explaining why the 19 pages are, or are not, privileged.

He instructed the prosecution team to meanwhile delete the photographs of the 19 pages from their records, at least until a privilege determination can be made.

The judge also told the prosecution team to ask prison officials to retain copies of the surveillance video from the search of Combs' cell.

Tuesday's hearing revealed new details of the raid itself.

The BOP conducted the raid on Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center without alerting prosecutors beforehand, in order to recover contraband relating to their own investigation into Combs and others at the jail, Slavik told the judge.

Prison officials photographed, then replaced, Combs' paperwork. After the sweep, the officials followed the required procedure for handling potentially sensitive, attorney-client material.

Photographs were given first to a so-called filter team, a separate group of US attorneys not connected to the Combs prosecution. The filter team then extracted all attorney-client material before passing the remaining photographs along to the Combs prosecutors, Slavik told the judge.

Combs is due back in court on Friday, when his defense team will make a third argument for bail. Prosecutors cannot refer to Combs' disputed to-do list tasks in opposing bail, the judge ordered.

• 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."