Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Ordered to Pay $100 Million in Sexual Assault Judgment
UPDATED: In the latest legal setback for Sean “Diddy” Combs, a Michigan inmate has won a $100 million default sexual-assault judgment against the embattled producer and entrepreneur, who has been slammed with multiple sexual-misconduct allegations over the past year.
According to Detroit’s Metro Times and court documents, the award was issued Monday by a Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge following a temporary restraining order against Combs granted to Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, 51, who it describes as “Michigan inmate known for his long history of challenging the judicial system with civil lawsuits.” The lawsuit claims that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted Cardello-Smith in 1997 at a party in Detroit; the judge set out a payment schedule of $10 million per month, starting October 1.
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The default judgment was reached after Combs failed to appear for a virtual hearing on Monday.
However, Marc Agnifilo, an attorney for Combs, disputed the judgement and Cardello-Smith’s account: “This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years. His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.” A source close to the situation tells Variety that the paperwork for suit was sent to an out-of-date address and was not received by Combs’ team in a timely manner.
The suit states that Cardello-Smith encountered Combs while he was working at a Detroit-area restaurant. The two met a group of women at a party and were having sex with them when Cardello-Smith says he was he felt a male hand touching him, which he claims was Combs. He said Combs later offered him a drink, which was spiked and caused him to pass out. He said he awoke and saw Combs having sex with a woman; Combs allegedly said to him, “I did this to you too.”
According to the Metro Times, Cardello-Smith, who is serving an unrelated sentence, is a self-taught student of civil and criminal statutes.
Cardello-Smith claims that in August Combs offered him $2.3 million dollars to dismiss the lawsuit, but he declined and said he would proceed with the legal action. Combs allegedly responded, “You know how we get down”; Cardello-Smith said he responded, “I disagree with how you get down.”
While Combs has denied most of the multiple sexual-misconduct allegations leveled against him, in June he admitted to assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura after video footage leaked of a 2016 incident in a hotel. He apologized and said he was “fucked up.”
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