Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex Cassie likely 'important' witness in Homeland Security trafficking probe: expert
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Sean "Diddy" Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura could be an "important" witness in the Homeland Security investigation against the rapper.
After Combs' homes were raided on March 25 in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation, reports surfaced that Ventura has since been interviewed by Homeland Security. The musician likely was in contact with Homeland Security Investigations before the raids even occurred, TMZ reported. Fox News Digital has reached out to Homeland Security and representatives for Ventura.
What the "Long Way 2 Go" singer told Homeland Security would likely "mirror" her claims brought in a since-withdrawn civil lawsuit against Combs in November, Priya Sopori, partner at Greenberg Glusker and a member of the firm’s Litigation Group, told Fox News Digital.
Ventura referred to herself as a victim of sex trafficking in her initial lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, citing the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking law and the California Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
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Shortly after becoming romantically involved with the rapper, the "Me and You" singer said Combs had her engage in sex with male sex workers while he watched. Combs allegedly referred to these arrangements as "freak offs," according to the court documents.
"Sometimes, Mr. Combs would pay to fly male sex workers to his location, including to multiple cities in the United States as well as abroad," the documents state. "He required Ms. Ventura and his staff to help him make these arrangements."
Ventura alleged that Combs' security and staff knew of the abuse she faced.
Attorney Spencer T. Kuvin of the law firm Goldlaw, told Fox News Digital there's "no way to know" what Cassie is saying to the feds, "but suffice to say, that if she is cooperating with the Feds, it cannot be good for Diddy."
Ventura could potentially be an "important" witness in Homeland Security's investigation against Combs.
"If the government were building a criminal case based upon similar allegations to those made by Ms. Ventura, then she could potentially be an important witness for the government," Sopori told Fox News Digital. "Her lawsuit referenced specific locations, witnesses and video evidence of alleged sex trafficking claims. The point of any investigation is to dig into the events as told by the alleged victims to see if commonalities occur and if those events may be corroborated by others."
"In such a case, we can expect that the government would want to speak with the alleged third-party witnesses noted in Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit, which seemingly included members of Mr. Combs’ inner circle," she added. "Also, in such circumstances, the government would be interested in speaking with those who purportedly travel with Mr. Combs or handle security, personal calendaring details and events for him. We can also expect that attempts will be made to speak with frequent visitors to Mr. Combs’ properties and any other purported proteges of Mr. Combs who may have been similarly situated to Ms. Ventura."
A lawyer for the rapper denied Ventura's claims at the time the lawsuit was filed.
"Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail," Ben Brafman said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. "Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday."
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If Ventura is cooperating with Homeland Security, it's not surprising, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
"When I was a federal prosecutor, my best source of information was exes: ex-husbands, ex-wives, ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends," he said. "They know where the bodies are buried. And it was Ventura’s bombshell lawsuit in November that encouraged other victims to come forward."
Combs has also been sued by music producer Rodney Jones as well as by three other women – Liza Gardner, Joi Dickerson Neal and a Jane Doe. Each accuser is also likely talking to Homeland Security, according to Rahmani.
"Their statements are probably the probable cause for the search warrants," he said.
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While it's unclear what Ventura has told authorities, details from the since-withdrawn civil lawsuit line up with items reportedly seized from Combs' homes.
Ventura said Combs filmed the "freak offs" on his phone, laptop and tablet.
"During the [freak offs], in addition to directing Ms. Ventura and masturbating, Mr. Combs would use his phone, laptop, and tablet to film Ms. Ventura having sex with the hired sex worker," the court documents state. "He treated the forced encounter as a personal art project, adjusting the candles he used for lighting to frame the videos he took. While Ms. Ventura quickly deleted any photographs or video of sex acts if they were taken on her phone, Mr. Combs repeatedly made clear that he retained many videos of Ms. Ventura during [freak offs.]"
"Even when she deleted the videos, Mr. Combs would tell Ms. Ventura that he was able to recover deleted videos from her devices," the documents continued. "On one occasion, he sat next to her on a flight and made her watch a video she thought she had deleted, reinforcing her inability to escape and the immense power he held over her."
During the Homeland Security raids, Combs' phones were seized, sources told NBC News. Authorities also allegedly took possession of firearms from Combs' homes, the outlet reported.
Ventura's lawsuit mentioned firearms as she accused Combs of intimidation.
"On at least two occasions, Mr. Combs demanded that Ms. Ventura hold Mr. Combs’s gun in her purse," the court documents read. "Ms. Ventura had no familiarity with guns and was petrified that the firearm would accidentally go off in her purse. There was no clear reason why Mr. Combs required her to hold his guns, except to reinforce to his young girlfriend that he was violent, powerful, and dangerous."
Less than 24 hours after filing her lawsuit against Combs alleging she was the victim of sexual abuse for over a decade, Ventura withdrew her claims.
"I have decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control," Ventura said in a statement at the time. "I want to thank my family, fans and lawyers for their unwavering support."
Ventura's decision to file a civil lawsuit – and then withdraw it – isn't ideal for a criminal investigation, Rahmani told Fox News Digital.
"Because that allows the defense to argue that it’s a shakedown and the allegations were fabricated to make money," he explained. "But when multiple victims are saying the same thing, that’s difficult for a defendant to overcome."
Another legal expert explained that Ventura's testimony in a criminal setting "would have nothing to do with a civil litigation that she decided to resolve."
"Often, even when victims settle civil litigation, they leave open the requirement that they be permitted to talk with any investigative agencies, whether it is local police or a federal investigative agency," Kuvin said.
Original article source: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex Cassie likely 'important' witness in Homeland Security trafficking probe: expert
