Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison

Sean "Diddy" Combs, the once-untouchable hip-hop mogul behind Bad Boy Records and a multimillion-dollar empire, was sentenced to 50 months (over four years) in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan. 

The ruling caps a salacious, eight-week trial that gripped the nation with graphic testimony of abuse, coercion, and drug-fueled "freak-offs"—elaborate sex marathons that prosecutors portrayed as the dark underbelly of Combs' celebrity lifestyle. Combs, who has been detained in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 2024 arrest, will receive credit for time served, potentially shaving months off his term, but he faces an additional $500,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Sean Combs

The sentence falls short of the 11+ years sought by prosecutors, who argued Combs showed "no remorse" and deserved severe punishment for a "reign of terror" spanning decades. His defense team, pushing for just 14 months (effectively time served), highlighted his philanthropy and sobriety in jail, but the judge cited Combs' "immense financial resources" that "enabled his crimes" and emphasized accountability for violence against women.

Combs' downfall began with a March 2024 CNN video showing him assaulting ex-girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura in a hotel hallway—a clip that shattered his image as a music icon. Federal raids on his Miami and Los Angeles homes uncovered drugs, weapons, and 1,000+ bottles of baby oil, fueling charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution-related offenses.

The July 2025 trial, which drew comparisons to high-profile cases like Harvey Weinstein's, featured harrowing accounts from Ventura and another ex-girlfriend ("Jane Doe"), who described being transported across state lines for prostitution under duress. Key revelations included:"Freak-Offs": Multi-day orgies involving male escorts, laced with drugs like ketamine and ecstasy, where participants were allegedly filmed without consent and threatened with exposure.