Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces federal charges in New York, his lawyer says

Sean “Diddy” Combs faces federal charges in New York, his lawyer said late on Monday.

Details of the charges were not immediately announced by prosecutors, but Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement 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 that Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought.

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Mr Agnifilo said.

Criminal charges would be a major but not unexpected takedown of one of the most prominent producers and most famous names in the history of hip-hop.

The federal investigation of the 58-year-old Combs was revealed when Homeland Security Investigations agents served simultaneous search warrants and raided Combs’ mansions in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25.

His defence attorney Aaron Dyer the day after the raids called them “a gross use of military-level force”, said the allegations were “meritless”, and said Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name.