Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Diddy found guilty on two counts as jury reaches mixed verdict
HIGH-PROFILE RULING - Diddy beats RICO, found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Male Escort 'The Punisher' Backs Diddy's Mixed Verdict, Believes He Swayed The Jury In Rapper's Favor
A prosecution witness in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs has publicly shared his agreement with the verdict reached by the jury in the case. Sharay Hayes, the exotic male dancer and former escort also known as "The Punisher," says he believes the jury made the right call and that he may have helped the hip-hop mogul secure a not-guilty verdict on three charges. Hayes testified that he was hired multiple times by Diddy and his ex-partner, Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura, for hours-long "sexy scenes," but that he "didn't see it as anything" and could have passed it for a "couple doing something risqué." Following the verdict reached in the federal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, a male escort whom the embattled rapper hired to partake in "freak offs" with Cassie, is throwing his weight behind the decision. Sharay Hayes, a.k.a "The Punisher," said that he believes the jury made the right call after they found Diddy guilty of 2 counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but found him not guilty on the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges. According to TMZ, Hayes notes that he saw Diddy's case from the lens of a toxic relationship filled with domestic violence, but that he didn't think the prosecution's claims of sex trafficking held weight. Hayes, who testified in Diddy's trial, further suggested that he might have "influenced" the jury's decision to acquit the "Finna Get Loose" rapper on the sex trafficking charges, adding that the rapper was in a long-term relationship with Cassie and his anonymous accuser, and there was a "certain amount of consent" involved. "In regards to her situation, directly with me being one of the two guys that they brought up to corroborate, obviously, my experience would not lead you to believe somebody was sex trafficked," Hayes told the news outlet. Despite his agreement with the verdict, the male escort expressed sympathy for Cassie and Jane Doe because their intimate bedroom moments were broadcast for all to see. Hayes maintained the same sentiment in a post-verdict interview with the Daily Mail, saying that although Diddy was a "terrible partner," the government didn't do enough to find him guilty of the more serious charges. "Honestly, I think today was the proper verdict. I think the jury's decision was the right one based on the law," he told the news outlet. "Was he a terrible partner? Yes, absolutely. He did a lot of things that I'm sure everyone would agree was heinous behavior." "But that doesn't mean they proved the case that he was guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering. You can't convict someone just for being a bad person," he added. Weeks before the jury reached a verdict on the charges, Hayes noted that he didn't consider the encounter with Diddy and Cassie criminal at the time, as the singer seemed to be a willing participant. He told NewsNationNow that although he saw Cassie "sighing or wincing" often, he considered it to be "frustration" with the situation rather than unwillingness to participate. "It would be suggestive … nothing aggressive, nothing that would create some sort of scenario that this was, like, unnatural between them," Hayes said. "In hindsight, if there were no accusations, I would have seen it as completely natural." "In the moment, I didn't see it as anything but a couple doing something risqué, and Cassie as a partner trying to create a fantasy for who I believed was her husband," the former stripper noted. Hayes testified during court sessions that he was hired by the-then couple for drug-fuelled sex orgies known as freak offs, but had never witnessed violence during the sessions he partook in. Hayes said that he didn't know he was being recorded taking part in the sexual encounters with Diddy and Cassie. His claims came after tapes of him having sex with Diddy and Cassie were played to jurors in court during the sex crimes trial. Although his name wasn't mentioned, prosecutors said that one of the video clips shown to the jury was from October 14, 2012, a day Hayes remembers vividly as it was the very first "freak off" session between them. "I'm shocked that there is a video because whatever video was taken was something that was done candidly without my knowledge," he told the Daily Mail. "I never saw any video or anything to that degree. So, my first reaction is just shocked that something is out there," Hayes continued. Diddy endured nearly two months of intense court sessions as the government sought to prove he was guilty of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution following his arrest on September 16 last year. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was denied bail several times. The jury finally reached a verdict in the case on Wednesday, July 2, acquitting him of racketeering, sex trafficking of Cassie, and sex trafficking of Jane. Diddy was, however, found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Despite the mostly positive outcome for Diddy, his attempt to secure bail again after the jury's verdict was denied by Judge Arun Subramanian, due to his "propensity for violence."
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
Sean Combs' ‘Diddy Inc.' empire of mansions, cars and jet likely spared by verdict
With Combs not guilty of racketeering, the US is likely limited in what it can seek through asset forfeiture, legal experts and former prosecutors say Sean 'Diddy' Combs's acquittal on the most serious criminal charges, including racketeering, doesn't just mean he'll likely serve significantly less prison time. The music mogul will likely also get to keep his vast 'Diddy Inc.' empire of mansions, business entities, exotic cars and other perks of his high-flying, near-billionaire lifestyle accumulated over several decades, legal experts told USA TODAY. 'The government overreached. They wanted a RICO conviction so they could then go seize Comb's assets under RICO forfeiture laws,' said Los Angeles-based civil trial lawyer David Ring, who specializes in high-profile sexual assault cases. 'Thats not going to happen now.' 'He was facing life in prison if convicted of the RICO charges,' Ring said of Combs. 'Instead, he likely serves a couple years in prison and returns to his business empire.' The sweeping indictment of Combs under a federal racketeering, or RICO, statute, meant the Justice Department intended to go after anything of Combs' that was used to help facilitate his alleged crimes, said James Trusty, the former longtime chief of the DOJ's Organized Crime and Gang Section. On July 2, in finding Combs guilty only of transportation to engage in prostitution, the jury also effectively shut down the Justice Department's ability to go after most of Combs' assets, Trusty said. 'I think that with the acquittal on the most serious counts, the universe of potential harm to his empire is greatly diminished,' said Trusty, who now specializes in representing clients in RICO and other complex federal cases. Inside the trial: Abusive lifestyle vs. a criminal enterprise: Inside the Diddy trial and what the verdict means The Justice Department had no immediate comment about whether it would seek to go after any of Combs' assets. According to Trusty and another former top DOJ official, it is still possible for the U.S. government to seek forfeiture of a far narrower range of Combs' assets. To do so, they must prove they were used in furtherance of the two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with 'freak offs' involving Combs' two former girlfriends, Cassie Ventura Fine and 'Jane,' a pseudonym. But, Trusty said, 'I think that the RICO case told a decades-long story' of how Combs allegedly used his empire as part of a criminal racketeering enterprise from 2008 to the present. Without Combs' conviction on the RICO and sex trafficking charges, Trusty said, 'The forfeiture is going to be much narrower in terms of both time and reach.' 'There may be some property, there may be some financial component, that is considered either facilitating property or proceeds' of those two counts, Trusty said. What Combs was convicted of, he said, 'Is really a glorified prostitution charge. It's just literally like prostitution across the state lines.' Trusty told USA TODAY in May that federal prosecutors wrote a "very broadly worded forfeiture allegation.' That included places where so-called marathon sex 'freak offs' between two of his girlfriends and paid escorts occurred and any vehicles used in getting the participants there. Combs was also indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Hiring a former DOJ asset forfeiture expert When Combs was first charged, his all-star defense team was so alarmed that it hired as a consultant Stefan Cassella, the former deputy chief of the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, USA TODAY reported exclusively at the time. At the time of his hiring, and after the verdict, Cassella said he could not comment on the specifics of the case because of his involvement in it. Broadly speaking, though, he said that by charging Combs under RICO, formally the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the government was taking an aggressive approach to seizing as many of Combs' assets as possible. 'As alleged in the Indictment, for years, Sean Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence and obstruction of justice,' U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said after Combs' arrest in September 2024. A forfeiture target with $400 million in assets By becoming a successful entrepreneur in the music, fashion, liquor and other realms, Combs had amassed a personal wealth of at least $740 million by 2019, according to Forbes magazine. (Combs and his team would later claim he had reached billionaire status.) At its founding in 2013, Combs Enterprises included his New York City-based Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs Wines and Spirits, the AQUAhydrate water firm, Revolt Media, Sean John fashion and fragrances, Capital Preparatory Charter Schools and The Sean Combs Foundation. Over the years, it expanded to include new business units and ventures such as Empower Global, Our Fair Share and Love Records, which focused on R&B. Combs owned multimillion-dollar mega-mansions in Los Angeles and Miami and a Gulfstream G550 jet valued at more than $25 million, which he used to ferry his entourage from one party hotspot to another. Also potentially open to forfeiture was Combs' Bad Boy Records, which has generated big profits from recordings and music publishing rights since he launched the company in 1993. Combs is also believed to have an extensive art collection, including works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. In 2018, he was revealed as the mystery buyer of the renowned painting 'Past Times' by Kerry James Marshall for $21.1 million. And at one time, his fleet of at least 20 luxury cars included a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and an ultra-luxury Mercedes known as a Maybach. 'A much narrower basis' to go after Combs' assets In November 2023, Combs' empire began to crumble following allegations of rape, beatings and abuse by his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura Fine. In her testimony against Combs during the trial, Ventura Fine said she settled that case with Combs agreeing to pay her $20 million. He has also lost significant other business after Ventura Fine's allegations prompted a spate of other lawsuits and accusations. Forbes more recently estimated his net worth at closer to $400 million. Now it will likely be up to the jury that found Combs not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking to determine whether any of his assets should be forfeited, said Trusty. He said it's likely that Combs and his legal team could offer up some small piece of his empire to settle that aspect of the case. 'With the acquittal, you just have a much narrower basis, factually and legally, to go after his assets,' Trusty said. 'I think it cries out for an agreement where the defense will offer up something like $100,000 or a million, and use that sentencing to say, he's already paid this severe price. He's had civil settlements with complainants, and now he's forfeiting X amount of dollars.' 'So now we'll see how hyper aggressive the government wants to be about it,' Trusty said. Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits Besides the federal criminal case, Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits from men and women who claim the rapper abused them, which could also cut into his fortunes significantly. To date, more than 70 lawsuits have been filed against Combs. In October, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee announced he would represent 120 individual accusers. Alleged victims represented by Buzbee now account for about half of the lawsuits filed so far. The music mogul was hit with yet another civil suit as jurors began deliberating in the sweeping federal sex-crimes case against him. In that one, Combs was accused in a civil complaint of drugging and raping an Orange County, California man in 2021, according to the lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY. In a statement to USA TODAY June 30, Combs' legal team said, "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor."
Fox News
36 minutes ago
- Fox News
Diddy could be free within a year after partial acquittal, attorney Mark Geragos predicts
Mark Geragos, a high-profile lawyer and the father of one of Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorneys, made a bold prediction about the rapper's prison sentence. Geragos anticipates the hip-hop mogul could serve 18 months or less behind bars. "What's the government going to ask for? They're going to ask for 50 to 60 months…" the attorney said during an appearance on his podcast with Harvey Levin, "2 Angry Men," Wednesday. "The sentencing guidelines, frankly, are 20 to 27." "I think if there's any justice, he'll get 21 months, time served," Geragos predicted. "Even if he were to get 36, he's eligible for all kinds of other stuff, he's not going to do much more time." "I think he'll be out within a year, 18 months at the most. I think there's a distinct possibility that he gets sentenced to something akin to time served," he noted. The jury in Diddy's two-month trial reached a verdict on all counts Wednesday. Diddy was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges and found guilty on both counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Following the verdict, the judge denied the rapper's request for bail. Diddy has already spent nearly 10 months behind bars and remains in custody as he awaits sentencing. The time he served will be credited toward his final sentence. Diddy's legal team was led by Geragos' daughter, Teny, and Marc Agnifilo. During the podcast interview, Teny made a guest appearance to briefly thank the host, as he congratulated her on the outcome of Diddy's trial. "I feel great," Teny said, all smiles, after her legal win on the "big case." Diddy's other lawyers included Brian Steel – who recently represented rapper Young Thug – Anna Estevao, Jason Driscoll, Xavier R. Donaldson and Alexandra Shapiro. His legal team argued that the case was about "voluntary adult choices," not a "mean" man running a criminal enterprise. WATCH: DIDDY TRIAL WAS A 'COLOSSAL FAILURE BY THE PROSECUTION,' ATTORNEY MARK GERAGOS SAYS R. Kelly's lawyer, Nicole Blank Becker, told Fox News Digital her thoughts on the verdict in Diddy's case. She shared that the evidence from Diddy's exes, Cassie Ventura and "Jane," who testified under a pseudonym, made the two counts tied to transporting individuals for prostitution tough to beat. "He was found guilty of two separate charges. Those charges involved transportation to engage in prostitution. These were, I thought, obvious wins in terms of the testimony we had from Cassie, the testimony we had from Jane… they set this up very well," Becker said. While prosecutors built a strong case, Becker shared where she believed it started to fall apart. "What they didn't set up well, and what they were striving to do, is get Diddy on this RICO charge... So, what did they do? They threw everything at him, everything, trying to mount their position that this was, in fact, some type of organized criminal enterprise… we know the government tried to turn a music empire into a criminal empire." In the end, it was a stretch – legally and logically, the attorney argued. The attempt to use RICO and the Mann Act (anti-sex trafficking law) were laws never meant for cases similar to Diddy's, she added. "Diddy clearly dodged a bullet when it came to the RICO charge," Becker noted. A federal RICO violation can result in a 20-year sentence. The transportation to engage in prostitution charges could carry a sentence of up to 10 years, while sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion may carry a 20-year sentence. Diddy will remain behind bars until his sentencing hearing. The prosecution has suggested four to five years for the rapper's sentence. Judge Arun Subramanian scheduled a remote hearing for Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET for the defense and prosecution to continue discussing a plan for Diddy's sentencing. The federal judge proposed a sentencing hearing for Oct. 3. The date could be moved up as Diddy's defense argued for an expedited sentencing.
