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.
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Jury sees bank statements showing Cassie Ventura's parents paid Combs
Prosecutors showed the jury bank statements from Sean “Diddy” Combs’s account in 2011.
The statements show a $20,000 transfer to Cassie Ventura on December 14. Just over a week later, Cassie’s father wired Combs $20,000.
Five days after that, the $20,000 was transferred back to Cassie’s father.
This comes after her mother, Regina Ventura, testified that Combs demanded $20,000 from Cassie in December 2011 after she started dating Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi.
Combs said he wanted this money to recoup what he spent on Cassie, her mother testified. Combs said he’d release explicit videos of Cassie if he didn’t get the money, Regina said. She also testified that the money was returned to them shortly afterward.
Ex-CFO had little contact with Diddy after leaving company
Former Bad Boy Entertainment CFO Derek Ferguson said he had little contact with Sean “Diddy” Combs after parting ways in 2017.
Ferguson said he last heard from Combs in September 2024, when he asked the former CFO to meet up in New York City because he wanted advice.
Ferguson wasn’t able to meet him at the time, he testified.
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Ex-CFO says he would 'do everything' to ensure there was no financial impropriety
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo asked ex-Bad Boy Records CFO Derek Ferguson about potential financial fraud during his time working for Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“You would never let there be financial impropriety on your watch in that company, am I right?” Agnifilo asked.
“I would do everything I could to not let that happen,” Ferguson testified.
Ferguson added that he never saw anyone help Combs commit a crime, be violent or make violent threats.
Defense asks ex-CFO about prostitution and Combs
Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo asked ex-Bad Boy Records CFO Derek Ferguson if he ever saw anyone “enhance” Combs’s reputation or the reputation of his businesses through prostitution.
Ferguson replied that he had not.
The ex-CFO also testified that Combs had a “great business mind” and “worked constantly.”
Recap: Hotel security guard and ex-CFO testify
Court kicked off Tuesday with testimony from Eddy Garcia, a security employee at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City.
Garcia was on shift as a guard shortly after Sean “Diddy” Combs was caught on camera hitting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at the hotel in March 2016.
Garcia testified that Combs wanted to obtain the footage, and his boss sold it to Combs for $50,000. Garcia delivered the footage to Combs, at which point the music mogul verified it was the sole copy.
After Garcia handed it over, Combs gave him a paper bag with $100,000 inside, he testified. Garcia gave $50,000 to his boss and $20,000 to a fellow guard on duty.
Combs had Garcia sign an NDA with a $1 million penalty if he violated it, the security employee testified.
Next up was Derek Ferguson, who worked for Combs from 1998 to 2017. He held multiple roles, including CFO of Bad Boy Entertainment.
As Ferguson testified, prosecutors showed the jury bank statements that corroborated previous testimony from Ventura’s mother.
Earlier, Regina Ventura testified that Combs demanded $20,000 from her daughter after she started dating Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi. If she didn’t pay him, Combs said he would release explicit footage of Cassie, Regina testified.
Regina revealed her and her husband took out a home equity loan to make the payment in December 2011. Today, prosecutors showed bank statements that show Cassie’s father wiring $20,000 to Combs on December 23, 2011. Four days later, the money was sent back to Cassie’s father.
Throughout the day, prosecutors also raised concerns that some are reporting the identity of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s ex-assistant, who testified under the pseudonym “Mia.” Judge Arun Subramanian has barred at least one person from the court who reported Mia’s real name on YouTube.
A woman was also escorted from the courtroom today because she heckled Combs.