Lawsuit Against Diddy Alleges Shooting Coverup, Drug-Filled Fanny Packs, and "Freak-Offs"

Producer Rodney Jones' lawsuit against rap mogul Sean "Diddy "Combs reads like a '90s hip-hop music video gone off the rails in Miami.

Among the most unsettling passages, Jones claims that while they were working on the Love Album: Off the Grid, Combs groped him, coerced him into soliciting prostitutes, and forced him into drug-fueled sex parties where bottles of booze were spiked with ecstasy. He says he wanted no part in the Bacchanalian celebrations, but if he didn't go along with the party plans, Combs "threatened to eat [his] face" (a claim straight from the court pleading).

Filed four weeks before federal agents raided Combs' mansions in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, the civil case contains allegations of orgiastic "freak-offs," employees carrying fanny packs filled with a bright-pink cocaine concoction, and a 25-year-old budding producer who Jones claims served as Diddy's international drug "mule." (Oh yes, and there were strippers, allegedly, lots and lots of Miami strippers.)

It's a labyrinthine tale of alleged depravity — one that Combs' camp says Jones fabricated out of whole cloth.

While Jones claims he's exposing the sordid deeds of a power-tripping rap star, Combs' camp says the narrative is pure fiction created by an ex-studio worker who enjoyed the spoils of a celebrity lifestyle for months but became disgruntled and is now seeking a big payday.

"We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies," Diddy's attorney, Shawn Holley, said in a statement. "Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones' attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them."

In addition to claims Combs groomed him to be a Magic City pimp of sorts, Jones includes counts for racketeering, seeking to portray Combs' music empire as a criminal enterprise. The lawsuit alleges the mogul's team helped cover up a California shooting that left a music studio bathroom soaked in blood and a friend of Combs' son with a life-threatening bullet wound.

Regardless of whether you believe them, Jones' allegations are dizzying — and they compound Combs' already long list of legal troubles.

On March 25, Diddy's homes were raided by federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Several outlets reported that the raids were tied to allegations of sexual misconduct against him, though DHS did not publicly confirm as much. Combs' electronics were reportedly seized, and the feds set about searching through a mountain of potential evidence.

Diddy has not been criminally charged in the DHS investigation, which his lawyer categorized as a "witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits" — a not-so-subtle reference to Jones' case.

Out of all of the sexual assault lawsuits and claims brought against the Bad Boy Records founder in recent months, Jones' case is perhaps the most sprawling in scope. To get a bird's eye view of it, we've compiled a synopsis of the allegations in the court file, a dossier of characters, and a rundown of the Miami connections.

How Did Rodney Jones Link Up With Diddy?

Jones describes himself as a Chicago-born multi-instrumentalist from a long line of gospel music influencers, and the second oldest son in a family of nine siblings.

A staple on the Chicago music scene with experience in the studio working with Grammy-winning gospel artists, he says he received a call from Diddy's agent in 2022 asking if he would work on Diddy's new Love Album. It was Combs' first full album since the collaborative effort Last Train to Paris in 2010 and his first solo album since 2006's Press Play.

Jones claims he joined the project and produced nine songs for Diddy between September 2022 and September 2023. During that time, he lived with Combs in residences in Los Angeles and Miami and spent several weeks on a yacht rented by Combs in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Saint Barthelemy, according to the complaint.

Jones says Combs dangled the promise of Grammy awards, untold riches, and even the keys to his Miami Beach home — if Jones played his cards right.

In the end, Jones claims, he got stiffed.

Combs' camp initially told him he would be paid $20,000 for his work on each song on the album, but once the material was complete and he had put in "thousands of hours" on the album, he was offered only a fraction of that sum, roughly $29,000 in total, he alleges.

Bloody Toilet - Shooting Coverup Claim

One of the most mind-bending allegations in the nearly 100-page pleading is the claim that Combs was involved in a "massive coverup" of a shooting at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles in the fall of 2022, shortly after Jones began working with Diddy.

Though Combs' camp has not specifically addressed the shooting in their public statements, they called Jones' lawsuit "nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines." (Combs says he's become the victim of a series of blackmail attempts with evermore elaborate accusations.)

According to Jones, Combs was hosting a producers' camp at the studio on September 12, 2022, with his son Justin and Justin's friend (referred to only as "G") in attendance. Jones says Diddy, Justin, and G were in a heated argument in a restroom when gunshots rang out. The shooting happened only a few feet away from Jones, he claims.

"Mr. Jones immediately went into a state of shock and feared that he would be shot next," the complaint reads.

Jones says he rushed over to help G, who was lying on the bathroom floor in a fetal position, holding his stomach and gushing blood from his torso and leg. By the time Jones brought the 30-year-old to the ambulance in the front of the facility, Combs and his son had "disappeared to another part of the studio," the lawsuit claims.

Jones alleges that Combs gave instructions to tell police that he was not involved in the shooting and "forced Jones to lie to police '' by telling officers that G had been shot in a drive-by outside the studio. According to Jones, Diddy's security team leveraged their law enforcement connections to ensure detectives did not dig too deep into the shooting.

Combs has not been charged in the incident, and the Los Angeles Police Department has not released case details to corroborate Jones' claims. Some details presented in the court file line up with a local CBS News report about a shooting on September 12, 2022, in the vicinity of the studio. The news report indicated that witnesses told responding officers the victim "had been shot after stepping outside the studio."

In an Instagram message cited in the court file, the recording studio's narrative of the shooting appears vastly different than Jones' story.

"The shooting occurred a half block away from Chalice and was a result of a robbery. There are police reports corroborating this," the message from the studio reads.

Following the shooting, Holley, who was representing the Combs family, purportedly said she had evidence that the violence broke out even farther away from the studio and that the victim soaked the studio in blood trails only after he made his way back inside.

"The notion that he was shot several blocks away, half a block away, or as he stepped outside of the studio is implausible."

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However, Jones says G could not have walked so far with such severe wounds — as was evident when he had to be carried through the studio to the ambulance.

"The notion that he was shot several blocks away, half a block away, or as he stepped outside of the studio is implausible," the lawsuit states.

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department have yet to release bodycam footage or the recording of the 911 call, according to the complaint. The complaint states that Combs' team required attendees of the studio event to sign non-disclosure agreements a few days before the September 12 incident, but Jones refused to sign.
It's not the first time Combs was alleged to have been involved in a near-deadly shooting.

Prior to the March 25 raids and the recent onslaught of sexual assault claims, Combs' most high-profile run-in with the law stemmed from a 1999 shooting at Club New York in Manhattan while Combs was partying with his then-girlfriend, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. Gunfire broke out at the club after an argument between Diddy and another patron, and police later arrested Combs on charges of weapons violations and witness bribery.

A jury acquitted Combs on all charges, though his protege, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, was convicted of reckless endangerment and assault. Barrow served roughly nine years in prison and was deported to Belize upon his release.

Pink Powder and the "Mule"

Jones claims that in addition to a steady stream of sex workers, a laundry list of high-powered psychoactive substances was on hand while he was working with Combs on the Love Album.

Combs was keen on having the right mood, the right lighting, and just the right drugs to keep parties going and the creative juices flowing in the studio, according to the complaint.

Jones says Combs' business manager often had employees "from the butler to the chef to the housekeepers" carry around black Prada pouches or fanny packs "filled with cocaine, GHB, ecstasy, marijuana gummies," and a bright pink powder called Tuci, a mixture containing ecstasy and cocaine. (The name "Tuci" may have originated from a nickname for the designer drug 2CB, though the slang now refers to other substances.)

Jones claims the manager "wanted Mr. Combs' drug of choice immediately ready when he asked for it." According to the complaint, Jones was "forced...to carry Mr. Combs' drug pouch against his will."

The lawsuit alleges Jones was repeatedly drugged when he unwittingly drank liquor spiked with ecstasy at Combs' celebrations, including a July 2023 incident at a California listening party in Combs' home, where several members of the crowd allegedly "were under the age of sixteen." He claims Diddy "forced him to stay" at the party and had his car keys taken away.

"Mr. Jones began feeling lightheaded and recalls passing out and waking up at 4 a.m. the following morning naked with a sex worker sleeping next to him," he claims.

"We do not plan on trying this case in the media — all issues will be dealt with in court."

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Among the assistants who Jones claims helped supply the drugs was Brendan Paul, a 25-year-old music producer and former Syracuse University basketball player.

The Ohio native reportedly began focusing on beat production after his college basketball stint waned — and he landed a gig working with Diddy in the rap star's studios. A social media page linked to Paul shows a dream-come-true situation for a young producer: hanging out with some of the hip-hop industry's biggest names and posting up behind a high-powered mixing board as part of Diddy's entourage. 

In the lawsuit, Jones describes him as more than a hired hand in the studio, claiming Paul served as "Mr. Combs' mule," an aide responsible for acquiring, carrying, and distributing drugs for Combs.
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On March 25, the day federal agents raided Diddy's mansions, local police arrested Paul at Miami-Opa-Locka Executive Airport after officers allegedly found cocaine and marijuana gummies in his possession. Diddy was present at the airport that afternoon, though Paul's police report does not mention the hip-hop mogul's name. (Paul remains the only purported member of Combs' entourage known to have been arrested around the time of the raids.)

Paul's criminal defense attorney, Brian Bieber, declined to discuss the details of the case when reached by New Times.

"We do not plan on trying this case in the media — all issues will be dealt with in court," Bieber says.

Miami Connections

Where else would a tale of alleged debauchery on this scale transpire but Miami-Dade County?

Jones claims that during his time working on the album and living with Diddy, he was "forced to solicit" countless Miami sex workers to bring back to Diddy's homes on Star Island in Miami Beach

Tucked in Biscayne Bay off the MacArthur Causeway, Star Island is a roughly 80-acre luxury retreat estimated to have less than 120 residents. Rapper Rick Ross and hedge fund honcho Kenneth Griffin (neither of whom is named in any of the alleged escapades) are among those who own property on the island.

Jones says that while working in Miami Beach and elsewhere, Diddy created an unusual work atmosphere, to say the least. He says the rapper hung around him naked, showered in front of him, and at one point grabbed "Mr. Jones' anus and crotch without consent."

The claims get even more salacious.

According to Jones, Combs "forced him to engage in unsolicited sex acts" with the cavalcade of prostitutes frequenting Diddy's Star Island homes. Jones claims that as a Christian family man, he had no interest in the sex parties, but he buckled to Combs, who he says "felt that you cannot make a love album without making love."

How could Jones be coerced into repeatedly cavorting with prostitutes over many months?

Jones' explanation is that Combs "used his power and influence," offering him $250,000 to purchase instruments, access to record label executives, and ownership of one of Diddy's multimillion-dollar Miami Beach homes. In other instances, Jones says, the hip-hop star would begin "threatening Mr. Jones with physical harm" if he spoke out against activity inside the entourage.

"Defendants executed their RICO and [Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act] enterprises with threats of violence: threatening to eat Plaintiff’s face, displaying and distributing guns in Plaintiff’s presence, bragging about having law enforcement under control, bragging about murdering people, and bragging about bribing witnesses, and jurors in the criminal case concerning the 1999 NYC nightclub shooting with Shyne," the complaint alleges.

Combs' camp responded to the lawsuit by arguing that Jones concocted elaborate tales in order to pressure the hip-hop star into handing over a hefty settlement sum. They echoed that stance following the execution of search warrants at Combs' mansions.

"Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested, nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way. This unprecedented ambush, paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence, leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits," Combs' legal team says.

"There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name," the statement continues.

Strippers at the popular Miami club allegedly knew Diddy "was in town by the sight of the Bad Boy baseball cap."

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Jones' pleading lists more than 30 dates between 2022 and 2023 on which he claims to have solicited sex workers to bring back to Combs' two properties on Star Island. According to the complaint, Combs was a regular customer at Booby Trap, a Miami strip club, where staff would supposedly know Diddy "was in town by the sight of the Bad Boy baseball cap."

"According to Mr. Jones, as part of Mr. Jones' sex worker recruitment tools, Mr. Combs provided Mr. Jones with an exclusive Bad Boy baseball cap. They required him to wear it to Booby Trap on the River as a signal to any sex worker he approached that Mr. Combs was in town and had sent Mr. Jones to recruit them," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint lists Motown Records, Universal Music Group, and Combs' business manager as defendants, among others, alongside Combs.

Yacht Encounter

Throughout the saga, Jones claims to have rubbed shoulders (and unwillingly, other body parts) with celebrities and their peers in Diddy's inner circle.

On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, he alleges, rapper Yung Miami's "assistant and/or cousin" made an aggressive sexual advance on him in Diddy's home — attempting to give him an unsolicited blow job in a bathroom. (The woman is not named in the complaint.)

Jones also alleges Combs tried "grooming him to pass him off to his friends" — one of whom was purportedly actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

In an amended complaint, Jones added Gooding as a defendant over an alleged incident aboard Combs' yacht in January 2023. He claims that while they were hanging out in a music studio on the vessel in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Gooding "forcibly touched him."

"During the introduction, Combs suggested that Cuba 'get to know' Jones better. He then left them alone in a makeshift studio on the yacht," the lawsuit states. "Gooding began touching, groping, fondling Jones' legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders."

Jones says he was "extremely uncomfortable" and rejected his advances. He claims the actor did not stop until "Jones forcibly pushed him away."

Gooding has not publicly responded to the claims. In an unrelated case, the actor pleaded guilty to harassment in 2022 as part of a deal with prosecutors, in which he admitted to kissing a waitress in New York City without her consent, among other misconduct.

Gooding's lawyer from the prior case has not responded to New Times' request for comment on Jones' allegations.

"Enough Is Enough"

Diddy rose to fame in the 1990s, releasing solo hits and collaborations with Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. He had a string of chart-topping singles with sample-based hooks, including "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "I'll Be Missing You" before expanding his business outside the music studio. He built the clothing line Sean Jean and later helped develop Ciroc vodka into an international brand.

By some estimates, his net worth at one point climbed to roughly a billion dollars.

Combs has had legal troubles in the past, but his prior issues now appear like blips in the shadow of the mountain of lawsuits now pending against him in New York state and federal court. It remains to be seen how extensive an impact the accusations will have on his business empire, though Combs has reportedly stepped aside as the chairman of Revolt TV, a digital network he founded in 2013. Some companies have also walked away from Empower Global, his online sales platform for Black-owned businesses.

Jones' case is one of several active lawsuits against Diddy alleging instances of sexual misconduct.

Two were filed just before the November 2023 expiration of the New York Adult Survivors Act's one-year window to submit sexual assault claims without a statute of limitations. The plaintiffs — Liza Gardner and Joi Dickerson Neal — claim Combs sexually assaulted them in the 1990s. (Gardner is represented by Tyrone Blackburn, the same attorney handling Jones' case.)

In yet another New York civil case, a woman who filed under a pseudonym claims Combs gang-raped her in 2003 when she was 17 years old. Her attorney says the defendants in the case "preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City, where she was gang-raped."

Signaling he intends to fight the wave of accusations, Diddy released a statement in December saying, “Enough is enough."

"For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday," the statement reads. "Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and for the truth."

In November, within a day of its filing, the rapper settled a lawsuit brought by his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, AKA Cassie, who accused him of prolonged sexual abuse, beatings, and coercing her to have sex with male prostitutes.