Multiple outlets reported that a Michigan judge ordered Sean “Diddy” Combs to pay $100 million after losing a default judgment to a Michigan inmate who claimed Diddy drugged and sexually assaulted him nearly 30 years ago. Combs, through his legal team, has denied any wrongdoing.
After Combs failed to appear at a virtual hearing related to the civil lawsuit, the judge awarded the $100M judgment to 51-year-old Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, who is currently incarcerated for an unrelated crime. Cardello-Smith claimed that he met Combs while working at a Detroit restaurant in 1997 (per Variety).
As a result of the judgment, Combs has been ordered to pay $10 million a month beginning on October 1. However per Billboard, if Combs’s legal team responds to the lawsuit now, “they could seek to overturn the default judgment and proceed to normal litigation, where Cardello-Smith would need to prove his allegations to a jury before securing a judgment.”
Combs’s attorney Marc Agnifilo has denied all of Cardello-Smith’s claims, sharing in a statement: “This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years. His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”
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