Sean “Diddy” Combs could be facing more lawsuits over sex misconduct allegations against the media mogul. An attorney representing the accusers said lawsuits stemming from the allegations have not been filed yet but could be within the next month.
Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said that he is representing 120 men and women who have lodged sexual misconduct allegations against Combs, The Associated Press reported.
There are 60 men and 60 women, with 25 of them minors at the time of the alleged abuse, which stretches back to 1991. One accuser said he was 9 when the alleged misconduct happened.
Erica Wolff, An attorney for Combs responded to the latest allegations saying, “As Mr. Combs’ legal team has emphasized, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus. That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” CNN reported.
Buzbee claims that more than 3,280 people have contacted his firm, claiming they were victims of Combs. After looking into the claims, Buzbee decided to represent 120 of them, adding that other cases are still being reviewed and some have already spoken with the FBI.
The alleged victims hail from 25 states but most are from California, New York, Georgia and Florida. Buzbee said most of the alleged abuse happened at parties in New York, California and Florida and that the clients were given drinks that were drugged.
They allegedly happened at venues, hotels or private residences, during events such as holiday parties, album releases and Comb’s well-known White Parties which were attended by A-list celebrities, The Washington Post reported.
“The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs. And there’s a lot of names,” Buzbee said, according to the newspaper.
Some of the alleged misconduct happened during auditions where “many times, especially young people, people wanting to break into the industry were coerced into this type of conduct in the promise of being made a star,” Buzbee said, according to “many times, especially young people, people wanting to break into the industry were coerced into this type of conduct in the promise of being made a star,” the AP reported.
Buzbee said that more than half of the alleged victims reported the sexual misconduct to police or hospital workers and he is gathering records of those reports, CNN reported.
He intends to file the civil cases in the next few weeks, CNN reported and will focus on allegations of sexual assault, rape, sexual abuse, false imprisonment and other claims.
Andrew Van Arsdale, who has represented victims who sued the Boy Scouts of America, now known as Scouting America, will also represent the alleged victims, The Washington Post reported. He called the suits “unprecedented in scope.”
Combs is being held at a Brooklyn jail since he was charged federally with sex trafficking and racketeering, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
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