US hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison for transporting former girlfriends to engage in prostitution. The Bad Boy Records founder was also fined $500,000.
Combs’ former partners, singer Cassie Ventura and a woman identified in court as Jane, testified that he abused them and forced them to participate in alcohol- and drug-fueled “freak-off” sex parties.
In July, the jury convicted Combs on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution, but acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
In a letter to US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian, Combs apologized to his victims and said he takes full responsibility for his actions. “I lost my way. I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess. My downfall was rooted in my selfishness,” he wrote.
Ventura’s lawyer Douglas Wigdor backed the sentence. “While nothing can undo the trauma caused by Combs, the sentence imposed today recognizes the impact of the serious offenses he committed,” he said in a statement.
Combs rose to prominence by producing several big-name artists in the 1990s, such as The Notorious B.I.G., and later launched his own solo career, winning three Grammys. He has been described as one of the wealthiest people in hip-hop, with his net worth reportedly reaching $1 billion by 2022.
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