Prosecution accuses Sean Combs of leading a criminal enterprise in closing arguments

• Final arguments: Prosecutors presented their closing argument in the criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, describing the music mogul as “the leader of a criminal enterprise” who abused his romantic partners and his employees. US Attorney Christy Slavik said Combs could get away with his alleged crimes “because of his money, his power, his influence,” as she urged the jury to finally hold him accountable.

• What happens next: Tomorrow, Marc Agnifilo will give the defense’s closing argument, which will be followed by the government’s rebuttal. The case will then go to the jury.

• Federal charges: Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to life in prison.

Our live coverage has ended. You can read more about prosecutors’ closing arguments in the posts below.

The prosecution has concluded its closing arguments, with prosecutor Christy Slavik spending more than four hours today delivering remarks on behalf of the government. Slavik outlined the five counts Sean “Diddy” Combs faces, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Here’s how she ended her closing argument after the afternoon break:

Combs’ defense team will present their closing arguments Friday. The government will then have an opportunity for rebuttal before the judge gives the jury instructions ahead of deliberations.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik is finished with closing arguments. The trial is adjourned for the day and the parties are leaving the courtroom.

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo will give the defense’s closing arguments Friday at 9 a.m.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik wrapped up her closing argument by thanking the jurors for their time over the last seven weeks, saying they’ve seen “lots of that evidence was hard to hear or hard to see and now it’s all before you.”

“You heard how the defendant ran his criminal enterprise with total control and with the loyal assistance of his inner circle — his chief of staff, who was his right hand, and his security team, whose names changed over time,” she said.

She listed some of the key witnesses who testified at trial and recounted all the messages, records, and images the jury saw.

“All of this evidence paints a clear picture of how the defendant committed crime after crime for two decades, how he didn’t take no for an answer. The evidence shows you how he and his inner circle committed crimes and how far they would go to cover them up,” she said.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attempts to convince Mia to lie or give false information to law enforcement in 2023 and 2024 are additional examples of witness tampering and obstruction.

Combs had his former head of security, D-Roc, reach out to Mia after Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit was public.

It was the first time D-Roc and Mia had spoken in more than two years. D-Roc suggested that Combs and Ventura fought like a normal couple and others who worked with Mia and witnessed the relationship dynamic felt the same.

Combs and D-Roc were “working together to neutralize the Mia threat,” Slavik said.

Records show that D-Roc and Combs would communicate about their reachouts to Mia in late 2023 and early 2024.

As D-Roc reached out to Mia, he updated Combs on their conversations and sometimes sent copies of Mia’s messages to Combs.

D-Roc gave her a false version of events and tried to convince Mia that everyone else accepted that story, then continued to reach out and eventually offered her money, Slavik said.

At one point in February 2024, Combs called her five times in a row at 6 a.m., then texted her asking her to call him because he wanted her to “jog his memory” about some events.

“As a criminal investigation became more and more real, the defendant tried repeatedly to reach out to Mia,” Slavik said. Mia testified she felt terrified and threatened by Combs’ efforts to reach her.

At that point in 2024, Mia was already talking with federal investigators, Slavik said.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said Sean “Diddy” Combs engaged in witness tampering and obstruction after Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit was filed in November 2023.

“For years, the defendant took great pains to keep his criminal conduct from being exposed,” she said. “But many of the crimes that we’ve been speaking about were made public when Cassie filed her lawsuit.”

Combs knew the allegations in the civil lawsuit could lead to a criminal investigation, so he turned to his inner circle to help him “neutralize” the people who could damage him the most, Slavik said.

The jury heard parts of recordings of two calls between Combs and Jane that were recovered from Combs’ former chief of staff, Kristina Khorram’s phone. Slavik said the calls occurred shortly after the lawsuit was settled, so “the only reason the defendant is doing this, is reaching out to Jane, is fear of a criminal investigation.”

Slavik said Combs tried repeatedly to get Jane to say she was a willing participant in the “hotel nights,” but Jane wouldn’t, and when she pushed back, Combs cut her off.

Slavik pointed out that you can hear the scratching of a Sharpie writing on paper in the background of the recording. She said Khorram was present but couldn’t speak, as that would reveal her presence to Jane, so they were writing notes to each other. “They were working together as a team,” she said.

Later in the call, Combs “dangles a carrot” by telling Jane she wouldn’t have to worry about anything as long as she’s on his side, Slavik said. Two days later, he instructed Khorram to make sure the rent was still being paid on time, she said.

Slavik said Khorram made sure it was done because “she knew what a threat Jane could be to the defendant.” She helped Combs “cover up his crime” and then “record these calls with Jane to fabricate evidence,” Slavik said.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik said Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former employee Capricorn Clark was also a victim of forced labor. She worked for Combs off and on from 2004 through 2012 in different jobs, enduring frequent threats to herself and her job and he used force against her.

Slavik said the human resources department at Combs’ company was a “puppet” for Combs and didn’t advocate for Clark or other employees.

When Clark tallied up $80,000 in overtime pay that she was owed, Combs ripped up the paper and never paid her, Slavik said. Human resources didn’t do anything about it, she added.

The defense may argue Clark was not forced to work because she continued to come back to Combs for jobs years after 2012 but that doesn’t erase the previous forced labor, Slavik said.

Clark went back to him for jobs because he made sure she couldn’t get a job in the industry unless it was for him, Slavik said. Combs told her she would never work again and made sure it was true.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said Mia, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former assistant,is also a victim of forced labor. “The defendant treated Mia differently than many of the other personal assistants – he demanded more and he abused her.”

“Mia was also required to provide sexual services to the defendant,” Slavik said. “He sexually assaulted Mia when Cassie and his other girlfriends were not around.”

She listed several sexual assaults that Mia testified about, including a time he forced her to perform oral sex on him. As Mia’s boss, Combs had “all the power and control” over her, Slavik said. “So even though she never wanted to have sex with him, he knew that she couldn’t say no and that she wouldn’t say no.”

Combs was also violent with Mia when she didn’t do exactly what he wanted, including by throwing things at her and slamming her arm into a door, Slavik said. She also witnessed Combs being violent with Cassie Ventura.

After Combs was violent, he would enlist HR or other employees to punish Mia, Slavik said. He would often threaten her job, which was her entire world at the time.

Mia felt she couldn’t go to law enforcement because she had seen that Combs was “above the police,” Slavik said.

Slavik addressed some of the loving messages and posts Mia wrote to and about Combs, saying that Mia testified that sometimes the defendant treated her like his best friend and other times treated her like she was worthless.

“The high highs and low lows that Mia described were a cycle of abuse that created a trauma bond,” Slavik said. “In the moment, Mia couldn’t see it for what it was.”

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik is now addressing forced labor as an element of the racketeering conspiracy charge. The prosecutor said the jury heard evidence of forced labor as to Cassie Ventura, Jane, Mia and Capricorn Clark.

Sean “Diddy” Combs forcing Ventura and Jane into grueling days-long sexual encounters without sleep qualifies as forced labor, Slavik said.

Combs forced them both to have sex with multiple men, multiple times over multiple days, the women testified.

“They got sores, they got sick, they got infections,” Slavik said. Both women testified they regularly got urinary tract infections from “Freak Offs” and it got to a point where antibiotics were ineffective.

“This was not for Cassie’s pleasure. This was work,” Slavik said.

Jane and Cassie both testified they would sometimes endure a “Freak Off” or “hotel night” while they still had a UTI from a previous sexual encounter.

When they told Combs they were tired or sick, he told them to keep going and “finish strong.”

The judge is back on the bench. The jury is entering now.

The jury is taking a 15-minute break. Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said she still has an hour left in her presentation.

Slavik said there is significant evidence that Kristina Khorram, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former chief of staff, knew what was happening in the hotel rooms when she helped plan “Wild King Nights,” her term for the hotel room. Khorram facilitated travel for escorts and ensured Combs received thousands of dollars in cash when he requested it during and after hotel nights.

“At times, it seemed like KK was disapproving, but that doesn’t matter. She knew exactly what was happening,” Slavik said. “And made sure the defendant had everything he needed.”

The jury listened to an audio message Combs sent Kristina Khorram: “I want them to hunt for the sexiest, most unapologetic wild king sex room in Vegas.”

Khorram responded, “Is Paul coming to Vegas too?”

Combs frequently hired Paul for “hotel nights” with Jane.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik is continuing to deliver the government’s closing arguments, focusing on the sex trafficking count regarding Cassie Ventura after the lunch break. Earlier today, Slavik outlined their case against Combs, focusing on the racketeering conspiracy count and the sex trafficking count regarding “Jane,” a former girlfriend of Combs’ who testified under a pseudonym.

Here’s what else she said this afternoon:

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik detailed several occasions when Sean “Diddy” Combs paid for male escorts to travel for “hotel nights” with Jane, saying their travel was often arranged by Combs’ travel agent.

The “entertainer” Sly lived in Atlanta and participated in “hotel nights” in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, Slavik said.

The “entertainer” Paul, who frequently joined Combs and Jane for “hotel nights,” travelled to Turks and Caicos for a “hotel night” in March 2023, Slavik said. Combs texted Paul after asking how he wanted to handle payment, according to Slavik. “He orchestrated and paid for Paul’s travel to the Turks for the purpose of a ‘hotel night,’” she said.

On another occasion, Combs texted the owner of the escort service Cowboys for Angels about a male entertainer traveling from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

Slavik said Combs sent money to Jane, who then forwarded it to the escort service. The hotel booked during that time charged a roughly $4,000 fee for damaged furniture, and cleaning staff found bodily fluid stains on the floor, she said.

Prosecutor Christy Slavik now turning to counts 3 and 5 against Sean “Diddy” Combs. These are two counts of interstate transportation for prostitution in connection to “Freak Offs” and “hotel nights” with Cassie Ventura and Jane.

To convict Combs of these counts, the jury must find that Combs knowingly transported a person in interstate and foreign commerce and that he intended that the person would engage in an act of prostitution.

Combs paid for male escorts to travel for sexual encounters with Ventura and Jane and often personally organized the logistics with the escorts, Slavik said.

Slavik reminded the jury that Combs paid for escorts to fly to New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and even Ibiza for “Freak Offs” with Cassie Ventura during their relationship.

The prosecutor encouraged the jury to look at the records if they want more examples when Combs violated the law, but showed the panel specific records that documented that Combs organized and paid an escort named Jules to fly to New York City in August 2009 for a “Freak Off” with Ventura.

Jules is the same escort who was at the “Freak Off” the day of the assault at the InterContinental in 2016.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik turned to sex trafficking in relation to the racketeering charge.

“Just like with everything else, he (Sean “Diddy” Combs) did not do it alone,” she said. “He needed help getting drugs for the ‘Freak Offs,’ getting cash to pay the escorts, and he needed help keeping Cassie and Jane in line. For those things, he again turned to his most loyal lieutenants.”

Kristina Khorram, Combs’ former chief of staff, helped set up hotel rooms and get strange men access to the rooms, Slavik said. When Jonathan Perez, one of Combs’ assistants, saw a video of Jane having sex with an escort, Khorram interrogated him about it. “KK knew that what was happening in those videos was wrong. But she did damage control.”

One of Combs’ longtime security guards, D-Roc, took away Ventura’s belongings, brought her back to Combs when she ran away, and tended to her injuries, Slavik said.

“It would be absurd to think he didn’t know what Cassie and the defendant were doing for days at a time over and over again,” she said. “Of course he knew.”

Slavik said it defied logic to think that Combs’ “most trusted lieutenants” were totally in the dark. “They knew what he was doing, and they helped him do it.”

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said even when Cassie Ventura did tell Sean “Diddy” Combs she didn’t want to do a “Freak Off,” they still would. She returned to the testimony about Ventura’s 29th birthday.

“Despite saying ‘no,’ despite not wanting to do it, Cassie left her own birthday party with the defendant for a ‘Freak Off,’” Slavik said.

“If the defendant wanted a ‘Freak Off,’ it was going to happen,” she said, adding that Combs didn’t take “no” for an answer.

“It all comes down to this – what choice did Cassie have in the end?” Slavik said. “Viewed through the entire context of their relationship, Cassie did not have the freedom to make voluntary adult choices.”

Drugs were also a part of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ coercive scheme to control Cassie Ventura and continue to compel her to perform in “Freak Offs” for years.

Ventura testified the drugs were dissociative and numbing and she couldn’t imagine having a “Freak Off” without them.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik also knocked the defense’s suggestion that Ventura’s explicit messages to Combs that sometimes referenced “Freak Offs” meant that she wanted to do them.

Slavik said it’s normal for a woman like Ventura to send explicit messages to her boyfriend that she testified she loved. But Ventura also knew what to say to keep Combs happy, which included sexual texting about “Freak Offs.” “She knew that when he was happy, she was safe,” Slavik said.

The jury saw one text Combs sent Ventura. “You’re supposed to be seducing me all day.”

Though the defense has said Cassie Ventura made an adult choice to stay in a decade-long relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs, Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik argued that Ventura didn’t see “no” as an option because she’d experienced how violent he could be.

Slavik said the evidence showed how little agency and how little control Ventura had.

“The defendant created a climate of fear that can’t be isolated to one moment in time,” Slavik said.

Ventura testified she “Didn’t really know what no would be or what no would turn into.”

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik recounted another incident when Sean “Diddy” Combs and Cassie Ventura were in France for the Cannes Film Festival.

Combs accused her of stealing his drugs, so he kicked her off the boat they were staying on without her passport or any of her belongings. When they later went to a movie premiere together, Combs was squeezing her beaded dress into her leg as tightly as he could, Slavik said.

On the flight back to New York, Ventura tried to sit separately from Combs, but he followed her, Slavik said. “He spent the entire flight holding Cassie captive and making her watch videos that he had recorded of ‘Freak Offs’ and threatening to release them.”

When the plane landed, Combs demanded a “Freak Off,” she said.

“Cassie complied. She didn’t believe she had a choice,” Slavik said. “He had just threatened her about blackmail tapes, some of the most humiliating moments of her life.”

Slavik said this is another example of coercion, which can include reputational harm and not just physical harm.