Diddy trial recap: Security guard says Sean Combs handed him $100k in a paper bag for LA hotel assault video
A LA hotel security guard and the ex-CFO for Sean Combs’s music company testified today
Eddy Garcia, a security guard at the Los Angeles hotel where Sean “Diddy” Combs was captured in security footage attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, testified Tuesday in the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial.
Garcia testified that his boss sold footage of the attack to Combs for $50,000. Garcia said his boss then tasked him with delivering the footage to Combs. After confirming it was the only copy of the video, Garcia said Combs handed him $100,000 in a paper bag and asked him to sign an NDA with a $1 million penalty.
Derek Ferguson, an ex-executive at Combs Enterprises and Bad Boy Entertainment, also testified today. Ferguson served as the chief financial officer for Bad Boy Entertainment and worked for Combs from 1996 to 2017.
As he testified, prosecutors showed the jury Combs’s December 2011 bank statements, which corroborated previous testimony from Cassie’s mother. Earlier in the trial, she claimed the music mogul demanded $20,000 from Cassie or else he’d release explicit footage of her.
Combs is facing sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy charges. Combs was arrested in September 2024 as federal authorities alleged he threatened, abused, and coerced victims “to fulfill his sexual desires” between 2004 and 2024. Combs has denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
Diddy’s ex-assistant cries while revealing why she stayed silent on alleged assaults as she finishes three days of testimony
The celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s sex trafficking trial
Diddy trial recap: Ex-assistant ‘Mia’ says she was ‘brainwashed’ and didn’t report Sean Combs’s alleged abuse
50 Cent claims he will personally intervene with Trump to stop any pardon of Diddy
Jury dismissed
Judge Arun Subramanian has dismissed the jury for today.
Court will resume on Wednesday morning.
Security guard Eddy Garcia set to take stand this morning
Eddy Garcia, the security guard at the Los Angeles hotel where Sean “Diddy” Combs was captured in security footage attacking his longtime girlfriend Casandra “Cassie”Ventura, is set to take the stand.
Garcia was a security supervisor at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City at the time of the infamous assault after a “freak-off” in March 2016.
Did Combs try to buy-back security footage for $100k?
Prosecutors are expected to delve into events that unfolded after Sean Combs’s attack, which allegedly involved the music mogul delivering $100,000 in a brown paper bag in an attempt to purchase the security footage.
Combs does not deny the payoff. His attorneys, however, said the payment was to avoid negative headlines.
Recap: What did Combs's assistant 'Mia' testify yesterday?
Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former assistant “Mia” returned to the witness stand for a third and final time on Monday, kicking off the fourth week of testimony in the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial.
Mia, who was given a pseudonym to protect her identity, testified that she did not report Combs’s sexual abuse because she was “terrified and brainwashed” by him. Her testimony came after Combs’s attorney Brian Steel asked her if she told the truth when she testified last week that Combs sexually assaulted her.
"I would not lie in this courtroom," Mia responded. "I never lied in this courtroom. Everything I have said is true."
Security supervisor to testify under immunity order
To spare himself from potential prosecution, security guard Eddy Garcia will testify under an immunity order. It came after he told the government that he intended to assert his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself.
Recap: Mia's teary testimony as she explains why she stayed silent
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ former assistant ended her testimony Monday with her head hung low as she tearfully explained that sharing the alleged sexual abuse she endured has been “the worst thing” she’s ever discussed.
For almost the entirety of her three days of testimony, “Mia” kept her head down, unable to look up at the lawyers or the man she’s accused of physically, psychologically, sexually and verbally abusing her.
When asked why, “Mia”– a pseudonym – tearfully explained the sexual assaults and rape are “the worst thing I’ve ever had to talk about in my life.”
“I can’t look my nieces or my goddaughter in the eyes and ever advise them if they were in this situation,” the ex-assistant told the court with her head bowed.
Ariana Baio has the full story:
Diddy’s ex-assistant explains why she stayed silent about alleged assault
Woman heckles Diddy in courtroom
A woman disrupted court today when she heckled Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“Diddy, motherf****** laughing at you at every damn courtroom...it’s not a f****** game,” the woman yelled.
Judge Arun Subramanian asked the court officers to remove her.
She entered as prosecutors told Subramanian someone identified Mia, Combs’s ex-assistant, by her legal name rather than her pseudonym yesterday. The judge said he will notify court security.
Judge bans man who shared Mia's real name
A man has been barred from court after revealing the real name of Mia, Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-assistant who testified under a pseudonym.
The man referred to Mia by her real name on his YouTube channel and filmed outside the courthouse yesterday, prosecutors told Judge Arun Subramanian.
Subramanian has now barred the man from court.
Hotel security employee takes the stand
Eddy Garcia, a security employee at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, has taken the stand.
Garcia was on duty shortly after Sean “Diddy” Combs was recorded punching, kicking and dragging Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway after a “freak-off” in March 2016.
Prosecutors are expected to delve into events that unfolded after the infamous assault, which they have said involved the music mogul delivering $100,000 in a brown paper bag to purchase the security footage.
Garcia signed an immunity order, meaning he won’t be prosecuted for what he says on the stand as long as he’s telling the truth.
Garcia details employment at InterContinental hotel
Eddy Garcia says he was 24 years old and had been working as a security guard at the InterContinental Hotel for a few months when Sean “Diddy” Combs was recorded punching, kicking and dragging Cassie Ventura in the hotel’s hallways.