Photo Credit: Federal Bureau of Prisons
Indicted music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is living in the same unit of the Metropolitan Detention Center as notorious crypto fraudster, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Diddy’s lawyers argued that the mogul should be released on bail, with a proposal of a $50 million bond and a security team that monitors him at all hours. However, the judge rejected this proposal, saying he believed Diddy would engage in witness tampering. He was sent to a special housing unit in the Brooklyn jail that houses high-profile inmates.
Sam Bankman-Fried has been in this unit since last year, when his bail was revoked after a judge found that he violated the conditions of his release. Bankman-Fried was the founder of the notorious FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which imploded in 2023 after siphoning away billions of customers’ money into venture capital investments, political donations, and lavish spending for both himself and his parents. Mr. Bankman-Fried has received a 25-year sentence.
After his conviction, Bankman-Fried requested he stay at the MDC while pursuing an appeal. Meanwhile, Diddy’s lawyers have attempted to argue that the conditions at the MDC facility are ‘too horrific’ for a defendant awaiting trial. The jail holds around 1,200 inmates and has a long history of complaints about overcrowding, rank conditions, and potentially unsafe living conditions.
Diddy’s lawyers are pushing for a speedy trial, with his lawyer Marc Agnifilo says his team is working to arrange Diddy’s ability to access discovery provided by the government while incarcerated. The government says this case involves massive amounts of evidence including witnesses, photos, videos, and text messages.
“My view is if the government wants to arrest him and hold him in jail, despite a massive bail package and despite his repeated offers to turn himself in, we are all going to have to move this along with unprecedented urgency,” Mr. Agnifilo told The New York Times. So far, Diddy’s lawyers have not requested a transfer away from the MDC.
