Diddy in trouble again; man who accused him of sexual assault wins $100m judgement

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs legal battles continues unabated as he has landed himself in another legal trouble that is set to cost him millions.

This comes after a man named Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, has won a $100 million (£76.6m) default judgment against the American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Cardello-Smith, 51, accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting him at a party in Detroit in 1997. While lawyers for Combs have denied the allegations, the judgment was issued by default after Combs did not attend a September 9 hearing.

Cardello-Smith, a convicted felon currently serving a prison sentence, has a history of filing civil lawsuits. Combs' legal team argued that Cardello-Smith was committing fraud on the court and claimed they were unaware of the lawsuit because Combs had not been properly served notice. Combs' lawyers told the BBC they intend to fight the ruling and seek to vacate the judgment.

Cardello-Smith claimed that Combs recently offered him $2.3 million to drop the lawsuit, which he declined. He also alleged he had evidence of knowing Combs, presenting prison visitation logs with Combs' name, a claim the rapper’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, denied.

This case is among several sexual assault allegations against Combs, who has faced other lawsuits, including one from his former partner, Casandra Cassie Ventura. Combs settled the case with Ventura for an undisclosed amount. Despite denying the allegations, he apologised after CCTV footage from 2016 surfaced, showing him physically assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway.

In March, federal agents raided two of Combs' properties as part of an ongoing investigation into sex trafficking. At the time, Combs' lawyer called the raid an unprecedented ambush and maintained his client's innocence.

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