The fall of Sean "Diddy" Combs was fast. One minute he’s the king of New York hip-hop, and the next, he’s sitting in a federal courtroom in Manhattan watching his legacy crumble in real-time. If you haven’t been glued to the news, you’re probably asking yourself, what is P. Diddy charged with exactly? It’s a messy, complicated legal web that involves a massive federal indictment, a six-week trial that felt more like a movie script, and a sentence that finally landed him behind bars in late 2025.
Honestly, the whole thing started with a bombshell lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. That opened the floodgates. By the time the feds got involved, the charges weren’t just about a "bad breakup." They were talking about a "criminal enterprise."
The Charges That Stuck (And The Ones That Didn't)
When the grand jury first dropped the hammer in September 2024, the indictment was terrifying. We’re talking three major felony counts that could have put him away for life. Specifically, the government went after him for Racketeering Conspiracy, Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion, and Transportation to Engage in Prostitution.
The trial finally went down in the summer of 2025. It was intense. After weeks of graphic testimony about "freak offs" and hotel rooms filled with narcotics and baby oil, the jury came back with a mixed bag. They actually acquitted him on the biggest stuff.
Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and not guilty of the most severe sex trafficking charges. That shocked a lot of people. However, the jury didn't let him walk. He was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act. This basically means the feds proved he moved people across state lines specifically for the purpose of prostitution.
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What Really Happened in the Courtroom?
The prosecution's case was built on the idea that Diddy wasn't just a music mogul; he was a boss of a "enterprise" that used violence and drugs to keep people in line. They called 34 witnesses. Cassie Ventura herself took the stand for four days. It was brutal. She talked about being raped and physically assaulted for a decade.
Then there was the "Jane Doe" testimony.
Another former girlfriend described being forced into 30-hour "hotel nights" where she had to have sex with male escorts while Diddy watched. The defense's strategy was basically: "Hey, this was a toxic relationship and a swinger lifestyle, but it wasn't a crime." They argued it was all consensual. Clearly, the jury didn't buy that entirely, but they also didn't think the "racketeering" label fit the bill.
A Breakdown of the Evidence
- The 2016 Video: That infamous hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking Cassie was a huge part of the trial.
- The Raids: Remember the raids on his LA and Miami mansions? Feds found three illegally modified AR-15s and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
- The Bribe: A security guard testified that Combs paid him $100,000 to "bury" the surveillance footage. The prosecution called this a bribe; the defense called it something else.
The Sentence: How Long Is He Serving?
On October 3, 2025, Judge Arun Subramanian handed down the final word. While the prosecution wanted more than 11 years, the judge settled on four years and two months in federal prison.
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He also got hit with a $500,000 fine and five years of supervised release once he gets out. Since he had already been sitting in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for about 13 months before the sentencing, that time counts. As of early 2026, he’s looking at about three more years behind bars.
He even tried to ask for a pardon from President Trump recently. No dice. Trump basically said "no thanks."
The Civil War Isn't Over
Even though the criminal trial is finished, Diddy is still drowning in paperwork. He is facing over 50 civil lawsuits. These range from accusations of sexual assault at parties in the 90s to claims from people who were minors at the time.
Attorney Tony Buzbee has been filing these cases like clockwork. These aren't just about jail time—they're about money. A lot of it. One guy in Michigan already won a $100 million judgment against him, though that’s still being fought over in court.
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So, if you’re trying to keep track of what is P. Diddy charged with, the answer is: he was charged with a massive conspiracy, but he was convicted of transporting people for prostitution. He's a federal inmate now.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re following this case, the next big thing to watch isn't the criminal court—it's the civil trials.
- Monitor the Buzbee Lawsuits: These will likely go to trial throughout 2026 and 2027. They often contain more specific details than the federal criminal case did.
- Watch for Appellate Moves: Diddy’s legal team is almost certainly going to keep fighting the prostitution convictions.
- Check the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) database: If you want to see exactly where he is being held and his projected release date, his inmate profile is public info.
It's a long fall from "It's All About the Benjamins" to a federal bunk, but that’s where the evidence led.