Homeland Security Investigations executed warrants out of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday and seized his phones in Miami before he was scheduled to depart for a trip to the Bahamas.
The music mogul is a subject of a federal criminal investigation amid several lawsuits filed against him in recent months, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The source said three women and a man had been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.
It was not immediately clear what kind of firearms were found or who they belonged to.
Aaron Dyer, an attorney for Combs, described Monday’s searches as “gross overuse of military-level force.” Neither Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested, Dyer noted in his statement.
“There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated,” Dyer said. “Mr. Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”
Combs is innocent and “will continue to fight every single day to clear his name,” Dyer said, adding that Combs had not been found liable of the allegations against him.
Since November, Combs has been the subject of numerous civil lawsuits following a civil suit from his former romantic partner, Cassie, who accused him of physically and sexually abusing her for years. Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, utilized the New York Adult Survivors Act, which offered a one-year window for adult victims of sexual assault to come forward with civil claims regardless of the statute of limitations.
She and Combs settled the suit a day after she filed in New York. Combs has rejected the accusations, calling them offensive and outrageous.
Since then, three other women have filed lawsuits in the Southern District of New York alleging that they were sexually assaulted by Combs. Two said they were teenagers at the time of the alleged assaults.
Combs has denied each of the sexual assault allegations, calling them “sickening.”
A former employee who worked for Combs between September 2022 and November 2023 also filed a lawsuit in February alleging that Combs sexually harassed, drugged and threatened him for more than a year. In his suit, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, a producer, also alleged that he had video and audio evidence of Combs, his staff and others “engaging in serious illegal activity.”
These cases are ongoing, and Combs has denied the allegations.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com