Diddy Reportedly Arrested By Federal Agents

Sean "Diddy" Combs has reportedly been taken into federal custody in New York City amid the ongoing criminal investigation into the numerous allegations against him.

According to a report TMZ published on Monday night, September 16, the music mogul was arrested by Homeland Security at a hotel in Midtown. The arrest was scheduled for Tuesday, however, the feds decided to move it up a day early. In a statement, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damien Williams announced Combs was arrested following a sealed grand jury indictment, which will be unsealed in the morning.

"Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY," Williams said. "We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time."

Combs was taken to the FBI Field Office in Manhattan while agents reportedly searched his hotel room. His arrest comes a few months after his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were turned inside out by federal agents. The raids were part of Homeland Security's investigation into alleged sex trafficking and other sexual assault lawsuits the Bad Boy founder has faced over the past several months.

Following Cassie's bombshell lawsuit, Combs has been hit with several more legal complaints from people who've accused him of a slew of sickening offenses. Although he settled with Cassie and publicly apologized to her , Diddy has maintained his innocence in all the other cases.

"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office," Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo told TMZ . "Sean “Diddy” Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community."

"He is an imperfect person but is not criminal," Agnifilo continued. "To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."

Combs had already been suffering from other recent legal issues prior to his arrest. Former Dirty Money member Dawn Richard recently sued him for alleged abuse. He also lost a $100 million judgment after he failed to contest sexual allegations from a Michigan man who sued him. According to The Guardian , Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith claimed the artist drugged and sexually assaulted him at a party in Detroit in 1997. In a court hearing, Cardello-Smith, who's currently incarcerated, said Combs offered him $2.3 million to settle but wouldn't acknowledge his allegations in court. Cardello-Smith declined and moved forward with the lawsuit.

A judge eventually ruled in favor of the plaintiff by default after Combs didn't show up at a hearing for the case. According to his attorney, Diddy has "never heard of him" and accused Cardello-Smith of "committing a fraud on the court."