❓WHAT HAPPENED: Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found not guilty of three out of the five charges against him in a federal sex-trafficking trial, including the most serious racketeering and sex trafficking allegations.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Sean Combs, Combs’s former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, Jane (pseudonym), Judge Arun Subramanian, Prosecutor Maurene Comey.
📍WHEN & WHERE: July 2025, Southern District of New York.
🎯IMPACT: Combs still faces prison time after being found guilty of two Mann Act violations.
A federal jury in the Southern District of New York found Sean “Diddy” Combs, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, not guilty of the most serious charges against him in a federal sex-trafficking trial. The verdict was delivered Wednesday after jurors had recessed the day prior without reaching consensus on the most severe charge.
Combs was acquitted of count one, racketeering conspiracy, and also found not guilty of the sex trafficking of former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and another victim identified by the pseudonym “Jane.” However, he was convicted of two counts of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of individuals across state or international borders for the purpose of prostitution, debauchery, or other “immoral purposes,” in relation to the two women.
Judge Arun Subramanian, a Biden appointee, heard arguments on Combs’ detention status after the verdict. Combs’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, argued that since the racketeering and sex trafficking charges did not hold, his client should be released to home detention in Miami and offered a $1 million bond. Combs has been in federal custody for nearly a year.
However, federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, daughter of controversial former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey, countered that Combs should remain jailed until sentencing for the Mann Act violations. She said the government would pursue the 20-year maximum sentence for these.
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