Hip-hop artist and music industry mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested late September 16 following a federal indictment by a grand jury.
Per previous Newsweek reporting, this indictment comes after years of allegations of abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking against Combs.
The indictment is currently sealed, but is expected to be revealed on September 17 by the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) September 17, 2024
Representing Combs in court is Marc Agnifilo, of Agnifilo Law Group.
What is Marc Agnifilo’s background?
Agnifilo received his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Political Science from Connecticut College in 1986, according to a resume available to download on his law firm’s website.
He proceeded to receive his JD from Brooklyn Law School in 1990, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award for outstanding performance in Trial Advocacy.
Agnifilo is a member of several Bar Associations, including the New York State Bar, the State of New Jersey Bar, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, the Supreme Court of the United States, and United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Police raiding Sean Combs’ house at Star Island in Miami Beach on March 25, 2024
Giorgio Viera/Getty images
Who else has Marc Agnifilo represented?
Prior to working for Combs, Agnifilo worked on several high-profile and controversial cases, including representing Keith Raniere, the founder of NXIVM, originally a multi-level marketing company which evolved into what was described as a “cult-like” group.
Raniere was charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, and in 2019 he was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1.75 million after being convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes.
Agnifilo also represented Roger Ng, an employee of Goldman Sachs who was convicted in 2022 of bribery and corruption in a scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, the LA Times reported.
“The harm to the people of Malaysia is immeasurable,” the prosecutor said during closing arguments. “It is deeply unfair to everyone else who plays by the rules.”
Ng’s lawyers argued that Ng was a scapegoat for crimes committed by others.
“Roger is basically the fall guy for this whole thing,” Agnifilo said at the time.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs performing in London in 2023
Samir Hussein/Getty images
What has Agnifilo said about Diddy?
On September 16, Agnifilo spoke to TMZ following the arrest of his client, saying: “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.”
He added: “He is an imperfect person but is not a criminal.”
He went on to tell TMZ that Combs had voluntarily moved to New York last week to cooperate with the investigation, saying: “These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Newsweek has reached out to Marc Agnifilo for comment outside of business hours and will update this article with any response.
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