Sean “Diddy” Combs is serving a 50-month federal prison sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, with a projected release date of February 23, 2028, after a Manhattan jury convicted him in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The latest news on P Diddy centers on three open fronts: an appeal argued before the Second Circuit in April 2026, a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s review of two sexual assault allegations, and a wave of civil lawsuits still working their way through the courts.
What He Was Convicted Of
The jury returned a split verdict on July 2, 2025. Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act, and acquitted of the racketeering conspiracy count and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.1CNN. Recap: Diddy Trial Verdict and Charges The acquitted counts had each carried a potential life sentence; the transportation charges carried a maximum of ten years each.
Judge Arun Subramanian denied bail immediately after the verdict, citing Combs’s “disregard for the rule of law and a propensity of violence.”1CNN. Recap: Diddy Trial Verdict and Charges2The New York Times. Sean Combs Diddy Sentencing3The Guardian. Sean Diddy Combs Sentencing Latest Updates The defense had argued that typical Mann Act sentences run around 15 months, making the term more than three times the norm.4Forbes. Sean Diddy Combs Heads to Federal Appeals Court to Argue for Release From Prison
Subramanian rejected the defense’s characterization of Combs as merely a “john.” He said at sentencing: “You were no john. You were more than that, even if your currency was satisfying your sexual desires instead of money. But the coercion was the same, if not worse.” The judge said the sentence was meant “to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.”2The New York Times. Sean Combs Diddy Sentencing
Where He Is Now and When He Gets Out
Combs arrived at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison in New Jersey, on October 30, 2025. He is housed in a special unit for inmates enrolled in drug treatment rather than the general population, holds a work assignment as a chaplain’s assistant, and is participating in the Bureau of Prisons’ Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program, the agency’s most intensive drug rehabilitation offering.5CBS News. Sean Diddy Combs Prison Chapel Drug Rehab Phone Call
His projected release date has moved forward twice. Originally set for June 2028, it was later recalculated to April 2028 and then to February 23, 2028, according to Bureau of Prisons records. The reductions reflect Federal Time Credits earned under the First Step Act for completing recidivism-reduction programming.6The Independent. Sean Combs 2028 Prison Release Update
The stay has included at least one disciplinary issue. In early November 2025, Combs was cited for making a prohibited three-way phone call. He told prison officials the call was to coordinate a media statement with his attorney, though it also included conversation about arranging weekend visitors. Officials recommended he lose 90 days of phone and commissary privileges.5CBS News. Sean Diddy Combs Prison Chapel Drug Rehab Phone Call
The Appeal
Combs’s appellate team, led by Alexandra Shapiro, is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to either throw out the conviction or impose a shorter sentence. Oral arguments were held on April 9, 2026.7CNN. Sean Diddy Combs Appeals Court As of mid-2026, the three-judge panel had not ruled.8CourtListener. United States of America v. Combs, Case No. 25-2623
The appeal rests on three main arguments:
- A First Amendment claim that the conduct the government labeled “prostitution” was actually the production of amateur pornography, which the defense says is constitutionally protected. Prosecutors counter that Combs hired and transported commercial sex workers for his own gratification and that it cannot be recast as filmmaking.4Forbes. Sean Diddy Combs Heads to Federal Appeals Court to Argue for Release From Prison
- A sentencing claim that the trial judge improperly relied on conduct underlying the racketeering and sex trafficking charges the jury rejected, including coercion findings the defense says the jury did not authorize.7CNN. Sean Diddy Combs Appeals Court
- An objection to the judge’s labeling of the women involved as “victims,” on the ground that the trafficking acquittals mean they were not legally harmed by the offense of conviction.7CNN. Sean Diddy Combs Appeals Court
The Los Angeles Criminal Review
A separate criminal matter remains open on the West Coast. Since roughly January 2026, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has been reviewing two sexual assault cases involving Combs, submitted by both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The allegations come from Florida-based music producer Jonathan Hay, who says Combs sexually battered him in separate incidents in 2020 and 2021.9Los Angeles Times. Sean Diddy Combs Sex Assault Cases LA DA Review
As of June 2026, no charging decision had been announced. A spokesman for the DA’s office declined to give a timeline for completing the review.10Deadline. Diddy Sexual Battery Los Angeles
Civil Lawsuits
Much of the civil docket has been paused while the criminal case plays out, because Combs retains the right against self-incrimination. The litigation that preceded the federal indictment started with a November 2023 complaint by Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in the Southern District of New York, alleging sex trafficking and sexual assault. The case settled for $20 million the day after it was filed, a figure Ventura disclosed in her trial testimony.11ABC News. Settlement Amount: Cassie Venturas Suit Against Sean Diddy Combs Combs’s representatives said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing.
Houston attorney Tony Buzbee has become the lead plaintiffs’ lawyer in the broader wave of suits. By late 2024, he said he represented 120 people and estimated the final number of filed cases could reach 100 to 150. About 20 lawsuits had been filed as of December 2024, most under pseudonyms.12BBC News. Diddy Civil Litigation A high-profile December 2024 suit by a Jane Doe accusing both Combs and Jay-Z of rape was dismissed in February 2025 after the plaintiff withdrew it; Jay-Z denied the allegation.13Houston Public Media. Tony Buzbee Withdraws From Diddy Lawsuit in NY
Recent civil rulings have been mixed. Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’s federal lawsuit, which originally sought $30 million, had its RICO, breach-of-contract, and emotional-distress claims dismissed in March 2025. The sex trafficking claims against Combs and his chief of staff, along with sexual assault and premises liability claims, survived and are moving forward.14Rolling Stone. Sean Combs Wins Dismissal of RICO Claims in Lil Rod Lawsuit
A September 2024 lawsuit by former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and withheld earnings, was largely dismissed in June 2026. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that 17 of 18 claims were time-barred, noting the alleged conduct “ceased in 2011 or 2012.” A claim under New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act was dismissed without prejudice, and Richard’s attorneys said they intended to refile it in state court.15USA Today. Dawn Richard Danity Kane Diddy Lawsuit Dismissed
In June 2026, a new civil suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by an anonymous former child actor. The complaint alleges Combs sexually assaulted the plaintiff in 2007 at a networking event in the Hollywood Hills when the plaintiff was a minor, and brings claims of childhood sexual assault, sexual battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiff’s former talent agents are also named as defendants.16Forbes. Sean Diddy Combs Sued for Alleged Sexual Assault of Minor Combs’s spokesman called the allegations “false and ridiculous.”
How the Case Got Here
The federal case opened publicly on March 25, 2024, when Homeland Security Investigations agents executed search warrants at Combs’s properties in Holmby Hills in Los Angeles and in Miami. Agents seized phones from Combs in Miami before a scheduled trip to the Bahamas.17NPR. Homes Linked to Sean Diddy Combs Raided by Law Enforcement18CNBC. Feds Raid Sean Combs Properties in LA, Miami on Search Warrants Out of New York
In September 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed a three-count indictment charging racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.19U.S. Department of Justice. Sean Combs Charged in Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking and Other Federal Offenses Prosecutors alleged Combs ran a criminal enterprise through Bad Boy Entertainment and Combs Enterprises from at least 2008 through 2024, coercing victims into drug-fueled sexual performances called “Freak Offs” and using recordings as leverage against those involved.20U.S. Department of Justice. United States v. Sean Combs, Sealed Indictment
Combs was arrested in New York City on September 16, 2024, and pleaded not guilty the following day. Bail was denied three times, including a November 2024 denial after prosecutors said he had been using other inmates’ phone privileges to contact witnesses from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.21NPR. Sean Combs Denied Bail for Third Time By the time the case reached the jury in the summer of 2025, Combs faced five counts: the original racketeering conspiracy charge, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.22CBS News. Sean Diddy Combs Trial Prosecution Rests The jury convicted on the two transportation counts and acquitted on the rest.