Prosecutors claim Diddy has paid prison inmates to use their phone accounts to obstruct justice

Diddy has been accused of paying fellow prison inmates to use their phones, and orchestrating conversations and social media posts “with the intention of influencing the potential jury”.

Back in September, he was arrested in New York and subsequently charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transporting for prostitution, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He was later denied bail having offered a $50million (£38.4m) bond, and was reportedly placed on suicide watch as he awaits trial. The artist has since appealed against the bail denial and has a trial date scheduled for May 5, 2025.

According to court filings obtained by Rolling Stone, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege the disgraced rap mogul has broken jail regulations by using the telephone accounts of at least eight other inmates.

Prosecutors say they have the recordings of the various calls he has made.

Sean “Diddy” Combs performs at Howard University’s Yardfest on October 20, 2023. CREDIT: Thaddaeus McAdams/WireImage/Getty Images

“Seemingly to avoid law enforcement monitoring, the defendant uses other inmates’ PAC numbers to make phone calls to both individuals on the defendant’s approved contact list as well as other individuals who are not on the approved contact list,” they claimed.

The prosecutors’ new 30-page filing urged the judge overseeing the case to reject Combs’ latest bid to be released on bond ahead of his trial next year. So far, he has already been denied bond twice, but is set to attend a third hearing next Friday (November 24).

The filing said Combs had offered “nothing new and material” that would justify a third bail hearing. “In fact,” it continued, “the only truly ‘new’ relevant evidence shows that the defendant has continued to engage in a relentless course of obstructive conduct designed to subvert the integrity of these proceedings.”

It continued to claim that in his attempts to evade law enforcement, Combs had “orchestrated social media campaigns that are, in his own words, aimed at tainting the jury pool; made efforts to publicly leak materials he views as helpful to his case; and contacted witnesses through third parties.”

It comes after Diddy’s son King Combs took control of rapper’s social media and shared a post on his birthday, which the new filing alleges was “carefully curated”.

“The defendant enlisted family members to plan and execute a social media campaign around the defendant’s birthday, with the intention of influencing the potential jury in this criminal proceeding,” prosecutors said.

The defendant, from within the [Metropolitan Detention Center], then monitored the analytics—i.e., audience engagement—and explicitly discussed with his family how to ensure that the video had his desired effect on potential jury members in this case.”

Elsewhere in the filing, it was alleged notes collected from his cell in a sweep appeared to suggest he had paid off a witness to make a statement, and, while on calls, had instructed others “to dial in third parties” including people not on his approved contact list.

Following the recent accusation that alleged Diddy had sexually assaulted and drugged a 10-year-old boy, Combs’ attorneys denied the latest wave of accusations and criticised Tony Buzbee – the lawyer currently working with 120 people who have come forward with new claims against the disgraced rap mogul – in a statement (via Complex).

“As we’ve said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are facially ridiculous or demonstrably false,” it read.

“Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.”

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