Lawyer cites 300 potential cases against Diddy

A lawyer representing respective alleged victims of Sean "Diddy" Combs says the imaginable fig of civilian ineligible cases against the instrumentalist "is astir apt successful the 300 range".

Tony Buzbee told the BBC his squad had received astir 3,000 calls since helium held a quality league calling for clients successful October.

He has already issued 20 lawsuits from men and women seeking damages from the musician; and says that "realistically" the last full volition beryllium "about 100 to 150". Others volition not marque it to tribunal due to the fact that the clip bounds for filing claims has expired successful definite states.

Mr Combs has denied each the charges against him, calling the accusations "sickening" and the effect of radical looking for a "quick payday".

His lawyers person characterised the aggregate civilian lawsuits, including the claims of 300 imaginable victims, arsenic a portion of a "reckless media circus".

They said Mr Buzbee's property conference, and the instauration of a toll-free telephone fig for tip-offs, were "clear attempts to garner publicity".

In a connection to the BBC, his lawyer Erica Wolff said: "Mr Combs has afloat assurance successful the facts and the integrity of the judicial process.

"In court, the information volition prevail: That Mr. Combs ne'er sexually assaulted oregon trafficked anyone - antheral oregon woman, big oregon minor."

The instrumentalist is presently being held successful Manhattan's Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting proceedings connected abstracted transgression charges of enactment trafficking and racketeering, which helium besides denies.

Mr Buzbee, whose signifier is based successful Houston, is an outsized quality successful US ineligible circles, erstwhile described by the New York Times arsenic "a big, mean, ambitious, tenacious, fire-breathing Texas proceedings lawyer".

A erstwhile Marine and a TV amusement host, helium made his sanction suing the vigor elephantine BP aft an detonation astatine an lipid refinery successful Texas City killed 15 people; and successfully defended erstwhile Texas politician Rick Perry against abuse-of-power allegations.

More recently, helium helped a sizeable radical of women scope out-of-court settlements with American Football subordinate Deshaun Watson implicit allegations helium had sexually assaulted them during backstage massage sessions.

His engagement with Mr Combs began past twelvemonth - aft his co-counsel Andrew Van Arsdale, who antecedently represented hundreds of victims successful a intersexual maltreatment suit against the Boy Scouts of America, began receiving calls astir the star.

“I deliberation helium got a small spot overwhelmed, and helium realised that this mightiness beryllium much than helium could grip [on his own]”, Buzbee says.

After agreeing to help, Buzbee asked imaginable victims to travel guardant via an Instagram post. In the adjacent 10 days, helium estimates his squad received 3,000 calls.

Those claims were screened by a squad of lawyers and erstwhile instrumentality enforcement officials, who arrived astatine a database of clients with cases “that are viable, that person been thoroughly vetted, that volition yet beryllium filed”, helium says.

"We inactive get [calls] each azygous day," helium added. "I deliberation that the imaginable [number of] cases is astir apt successful the 300 range, but I deliberation realistically, it'll yet beryllium astir 100 to 150."

The alleged victims see a astir adjacent fig of men and women; whose accusations span a 20-year period.

Among them are a pistillate who claims Mr Combs raped her successful a edifice country successful 2004 erstwhile she was a 19-year-old assemblage student; and an aspiring young instrumentalist who alleges the instrumentalist drugged him and forced him to execute oral enactment erstwhile helium was 10 years old.

Lawyers for Mr Combs person denied the allegations, saying successful a connection to the BBC that helium "has ne'er sexually assaulted anyone - big oregon minor, antheral oregon woman".

The lawsuits person truthful acold been filed anonymously, with the alleged victims referred to successful tribunal documents arsenic John Doe oregon Jane Doe.

However, Mr Combs' laywers person asked the courts to merchandise their identities truthful helium tin adequately hole for immoderate imaginable trial.

In 3 cases truthful far, including that of the 19-year-old woman, a justice has ruled that they volition person to uncover their names for their claims to determination forward.

"It happens a lot," Mr Buzbee told the BBC. "If the plaintiff is forced to uncover her oregon his oregon her identity, Mr Combs hopes that they volition softly spell distant and ne'er bring the assertion again.

"The bully quality is, that's not going to happen. That's thing I screened for... truthful if they're forced to uncover their identity, they'll uncover their identity, and we'll support pressing forward.”

Mr Buzbee added that helium had taken akin measures successful the DeShaun Watson case, wherever respective women publically attached their names to the lawsuits pursuing a situation from the sportsman's lawyers.

One suit has received peculiar attraction due to the fact that it claims different celebrities were progressive successful Mr Combs' alleged crimes.

The case, filed successful New York successful October, regards a 13-year-old who claims she became disorientated and dizzy aft accepting a portion astatine 1 of Mr Combs' parties.

Soon after, she claims that a man, primitively identified arsenic "Celebrity A" removed her apparel and raped her, portion Mr Combs and a pistillate named arsenic "Celebrity B" watched.

On Sunday, the plaintiff updated the lawsuit to individuality the archetypal personage arsenic the rap fable Jay-Z.

In an extended statement, Jay-Z, whose existent sanction is Shawn Carter, called the claims "idiotic" and accused Mr Buzbee of attempting to blackmail him by threatening to marque his sanction public.

"My bosom and enactment goes retired to existent victims successful the world, who person to ticker however their beingness communicative is dressed successful costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser successful a inexpensive suit," helium added.

The instrumentalist had antecedently filed an anonymous suit successful Los Angeles, accusing Mr Buzbee of "shamelessly" trying to extort him.

Mr Buzbee fired backmost that the "frivolous" suit was a "last-ditch attempt" to halt Mr Carter's sanction being made public.

"I americium a US Marine," helium wrote successful an Instagram statement. "I won't beryllium silenced oregon intimidated. Neither volition my clients."

Mr Combs' ineligible squad besides contradict the claims, and said the extortion complaint against Mr Buzbee "expose his barrage of lawsuits… for what they are: Shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fearfulness having lies dispersed astir them, conscionable arsenic lies person been dispersed astir Mr Combs".

The backmost and distant has lone fuelled speculation that much high-profile euphony manufacture figures volition go ensnared successful the upcoming trials.

• The charges against Sean 'Diddy' Combs explained

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Buzbee called that eventuality "very likely".

"If you conscionable look astatine the behaviour that's being alleged, it's beauteous ubiquitous. There was a civilization that was created, a enactment culture, wherever thing goes," helium says.

"There was conscionable a wide feeling that helium [Mr Combs] was supra the law, that helium could bash immoderate helium wanted, whenever helium wanted, with whomever helium wanted."

Social media has seen a flurry of speculation, linking radical to Mr Combs' alleged crimes - based connected small much than photos of showbusiness parties successful the 1990s and 2000s.

Needless to say, determination is nary grounds to backmost up those allegations.

There person besides been widely-discredited fakes, including a tell-all biography purportedly written by Mr Combs' precocious partner, Kim Porter; and a viral song, successful which Justin Bieber purportedly sang, "I mislaid myself astatine a Diddy party". The second turned retired to beryllium an AI-generated fake.

Lawyers for Mr Combs person argued that the fig of "false and outrageous" claims being made by "government agents, plaintiffs' attorneys, and others with questionable motives" could beryllium "perceived arsenic prejudicing imaginable jurors".

Mr Buzbee disagrees.

"Obviously, the radical who travel into the tribunal arsenic jurors, don't travel successful in a vacuum," helium tells the BBC.

"They work the press, and they cognize what's going on, but I deliberation astir radical are consenting to say, 'Let's justice this assertion connected its merits. What is the impervious and what is the defence?'"

In the end, Mr Buzbee's clients whitethorn look a agelong hold to person their cases heard successful court.

Jennie VonCannon, a erstwhile national authoritative with acquisition of enactment trafficking and racketeering cases, says the transgression proceedings against Mr Combs volition person to reason earlier the civilian claims tin proceed.

"That's due to the fact that the Fifth Amendment gives you the close to stay silent," she told the BBC.

"So you request the transgression lawsuit to spell first, due to the fact that if you made statements successful the civilian cases successful bid to support yourself, you could perchance incriminate yourself."

The BBC understands that Grand Jury hearings for Mr Combs' transgression proceedings person continued since charges were filed against him successful September.

Some of the alleged victims who are suing him successful civilian tribunal are believed to person fixed grounds successful these hearings. VonCannon says the authorities could easy amend their lawsuit arsenic a result.

"There's a schoolhouse of thought that nary probe is ever complete," she says.

"It sounds similar the authorities is inactive actively producing discovery, truthful it's imaginable they volition supersede [replace oregon amend] the indictment, and adjacent adhd much defendants."

The transgression proceedings is presently scheduled to statesman successful May 2025.