Listeners, the latest headlines about Sean Combs—also known as Puffy or P Diddy—are focused firmly on his ongoing federal trial in Manhattan, where he faces serious charges including sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. On May 16, Cassie Ventura, Combs’s former long-term girlfriend, completed her fourth and final day of often emotional testimony. She described in detail allegations of abuse and sexual exploitation, including an incident in 2018 after a dinner in Malibu where she claims Combs raped her. Ventura told the court that at the time, Combs was acting strangely and agreed when asked by Combs’s lawyer if his behavior could have been related to his bipolar disorder. In court, Ventura said she would have returned the $20 million settlement from her 2023 civil lawsuit if she “never had to have ‘freak offs’”—referring to sessions where she says Combs coerced her into having sex with other men, often involving drugs, as part of what she described as a loss of agency and autonomy. Ventura broke down in tears, sharing that if she’d never gone through those experiences, her life would have been fundamentally different.

As Cassie left the stand, the prosecution called Dawn Richard, another former associate and ex-bandmate, who told the court she had witnessed Combs attack Ventura, describing Combs as “screaming” and “belligerent.” The trial has also included testimony from federal agents who described evidence found at the time of Combs’s September 2024 arrest, including drugs and other items in his hotel room. Combs has denied all wrongdoing, with his legal team arguing that all sexual encounters were consensual and part of a swinger lifestyle, and that the relationships in question, while sometimes involving domestic issues, did not amount to trafficking or abuse.

Despite the trial’s shadow, Combs’s legacy as a music mogul and business tycoon remains significant. As of 2025, his net worth is estimated at over $1 billion, built from decades of music hits, smart investments, and ownership stakes in everything from fashion to tech startups and major beverage brands like Ciroc vodka. Yet the cloud of allegations and high-profile trial is now the dominant story, with the hip-hop world and public watching closely as the case continues to unfold in federal court.