A Pop Culture Case Study: Sean “P. Diddy” Combs - Human Trafficking Backed by Corruption and Money Laundering

Special Edition with Guest Student Authors from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University (https://traccc.gmu.edu/)

I have been honored to be an Adjunct Professor at GMU’s TraCCC (The Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center) for several years. Many AML/Sanctions experts have joined me as guest lecturers as we work with graduate students either in or contemplating a career in our community. This past summer, in my International Money Laundering, Corruption, and Terrorism class, the challenge was to educate and stay current with the plethora of changes occurring in the US and internationally.

The students were required to submit a final paper on a topic related to the vast areas covered in class, and I have selected several papers that I know will be of interest to many.

John Byrne

Chair, AML RightSource Advisory Board

Introduction

            Three interconnected themes often found in the political sphere are human trafficking, corruption, and money laundering. While these concepts can be analyzed individually, they often have a deeply interdependent relationship. Illegal enterprises, like human trafficking operations, stem from a sphere of corruption that provides both a launching point and a larger ring of security. Like any legal operation, fraudulent enterprises then also need a system of fiscal operations in order to grow and perpetually function. As a result, human trafficking rings can be known to rely on intricate money laundering networks.

            While it appears to be common knowledge that the interplay of these three themes is rampant in the political sphere. Recent unraveling has begun to expose that the same core pillars have been hidden in the pyramid of pop culture fame. One common conviction seen in money laundering trials falls under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a federal law targeting organized crime (Cassella, 2025). However, in 2021, well-known singer, songwriter, and music producer, “R. Kelly”, was convicted of a RICO indictment (Winton & Brown, 2025). This discovery of a human trafficking mission hidden in plain sight by corruption and covert money transfers was eye-opening for the pop culture world. One of the most halting realizations was that this might not be an outlier but rather one data point in a larger, underground pattern.

            In 2024, longtime rapper, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur Sean Combs, also known as “P. Diddy,” was indicted following a federal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The influential rapper was arrested and charged with three counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2024). Shortly after, in 2025, Combs faced a six-week federal trial where 34 witnesses, including three direct victims and six former assistants, testified against the defendant (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). While Combs was eventually found not guilty of a full-scale RICO charge, the final jury reasoning did not note denial of the accused actions but rather ethical debates over how to define consent and if an individual can be charged for RICO without also charging co-conspirators, who, in this case, were covered under individual immunity deals in exchange for testimonies (Winton & Brown, 2025).

            Consequently, the evidence brought to light in the trial of the United States v Combs can be analyzed as a case study to exemplify how the themes of human trafficking, corruption, and money laundering expand beyond the studied parameters of terrorist groups, well-known criminals, and corrupt public officials. At the heart of fortune and fame, many pop culture successes are interwoven with the interplay of human trafficking, corruption, and money laundering.

Human Trafficking - Background Research

            One type of illicit operation that serves as a common centerpiece in the interplay of corruption and money laundering is human trafficking. An operation can be defined as human trafficking if a person is harbored or transported for the purpose of performing a sex or labor act against their will (Strandlie, 2025). Building further, in the case of a legal adult, this act must involve the exchange of money or something of value, and force, fraud, or coercion must be present to qualify as trafficking as opposed to abuse or assault (Strandlie, 2025).

Operations that can be defined as human trafficking also often come with a string of commonalities. In terms of tools to overpower trafficked persons, many perpetrators utilize similar, impactful methods. Some of these methods are physical threats and abuse, psychological abuse, debt bondage, withholding financial resources, and isolation (Strandlie, 2025). Further, one ever-present method of psychological abuse is sextortion, where explicit content is threatened to be publicly released if demands are not met (Strandlie, 2025).

At the base of these power dynamics, numerous financial patterns often appear and can thus serve as indicators of potential human trafficking. Some of these indicators include frequent hotel stays, including within proximity to the purchaser’s permanent residence, high-volume transportation purchases such as rideshares, flights, and trains, high-value/recurring cash withdrawals, and frequent, back-to-back peer-to-peer transactions or money transfers (Strandlie, 2025). 

Human Trafficking - Case Study Research and Analysis

            In examining these human trafficking indicators, tools, and definitions through the lens of the case study of the United States v Combs, theory and practice closely align. In terms of indicators and tools, one piece of evidence presented by DHS against Combs exemplifies hotel stays and physical abuse all in one. During the trial, 2016 footage was presented from a Los Angeles hotel of Combs, undressed, chasing one of the testifying victims as she attempts an escape to the elevators. After catching up to the victim, Combs is then seen kicking and throwing objects at the victim until eventually physically dragging her back toward a hotel room (Department of Justice, 2024). On top of this evidence, additional human trafficking indicators appeared in DHS evidence, such as large amounts of cash stored throughout Combs’ hotel rooms and residences, $9,000 noted in one seized bundle (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Combs’ former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) further testified that he found suspicious transactions by Combs on company accounts. Among these purchases were frequent flights and interpersonal wire transfers (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025).

            In addition to this indicator evidence, the trial also linked Combs’ actions to many of the aforementioned methods of power. Multiple victim and witness testimonies corroborated widespread, recurring beatings, injuries, death threats, rapes, wage withholdings, and career threats at the hands of Combs (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Again, two themes also combine into one exhibit of trial evidence as one victim’s mother testified that she was forced to take out a home equity loan in order to comply with a threat from Combs that he would release explicit videos of her daughter if he was not paid $20,000 (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). This instance of debt bondage via sextortion was later explicitly linked to the suspicious wire transfers provided as evidence from Combs’ CFO on company accounts (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). From this comparison of evidence against Combs with common elements of human trafficking, it grows increasingly apparent that human trafficking could be linked as a core operation of Combs and his associated businesses.

            To solidify this analysis, the formal human trafficking indictment and witness testimonies can be compared with the noted human trafficking definition. In the indictment, Combs is charged with conducting parties where he would transport sex workers across state and international lines and then pay them to perform sexual acts on women in his personal life. The charge further accuses that these women were given drugs as a means of forced obedience and compliance (Department of Justice, 2024). These claims were then continuously verified in the trial through victim and witness testimonies. Victims noted the extensive, coerced sexual events in detail, even adding constant fear for safety and eventual thoughts of suicide (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Involved escort workers further verified these accusations of transportation and payment, building deeper to note that the women were sometimes drugged to the point of unconsciousness (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Finally, DHS presented evidence of weapons confiscated from a raid of Combs’ belongings that were found alongside sexual paraphernalia. Specifically, DHS confiscated automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers as well as loaded ammunition capable of penetrating body armor (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). In the analysis of this evidence presented against Combs, all components of the noted human trafficking definition are satisfied: persons harbored and transported for sex acts, noted inability to consent, financial compensation in exchange for the acts, and evident force and coercion.

            Through analysis of the evidence presented in the trial of the United States v Combs, it can be concluded that a core pillar of the hidden everyday operations of Sean Combs and his associated businesses was, in fact, human trafficking. From this conclusion, it is revealed that members of high social status in the pop culture sphere do facilitate and partake in networks of human trafficking.

Corruption - Background Research

            Human trafficking can often be traced to the origins of corruption. Perpetrators of human trafficking operations are often violently inclined individuals with connections to criminal activities. Further, they are often a person of power who abuses trust and secures consequence immunity through bribes (Pasley, 2025). Bribery and abuse of trust are important elements of establishing successful human trafficking operations. If a person is able to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with a corrupt official seeking personal profit, they unlock the ability to shield their undercover operations from legal consequence through the exchange of funding and influence over the public sector (Pasley, 2025).

Corruption - Case Study Research and Analysis

            Among the evidence presented at Combs’ trial, DHS noted multiple instances of illicit drugs and substances found in raids of Combs’ residences and hotel rooms. Confiscated evidence presented by DHS also constituted various weapons, including a loaded 60-round drum magazine (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). In addition, former employees of Combs noted routine recreational contact with illicit substances such as cocaine, Adderall, and ketamine (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). With a general foundation of drugs and violence, Combs’ activities were rewarded and protected by a circle of powerful social figures. Among other figures mentioned in the trial, one victim notably testified that she witnessed Combs physically harm a victim in the presence of the well-known figures Ne-Yo, Usher, and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine. The witness noted that none of the powerful figures reacted to the abuse. (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Combs’ influence over well-known figures was also exemplified in practice during the trial itself when rapper Kanye West attended a hearing in support of the defendant (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025).

These protective, powerful connections eventually expanded into the public sphere for Combs. Beyond historic friendships with powerful political figures such as Donald Trump, Combs was accused at trial of leveraging public officials and police staff to keep his corrupt actions removed from consequence. Exemplified through evidence, a rival rapper, Kid Cudi, presented photos of his own vehicle, charred, in conjunction with threats of physical harm from Combs (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Interpersonally, one former employee testified that she was threatened with her life by Combs if she did not convince Kid Cudi to refrain from reporting the incident to officials (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). However, the rapper did report this break-in and destruction of property to local law enforcement. While enforcement officials testified that footage was found of a license plate linked to Combs at the impacted residence, no related charges were ever brought against Combs (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). In an even deeper revelation of public sector influence, a Los Angeles Fire Department official testified that his team had found fingerprint evidence on the charred vehicle at the scene of the disturbance. He noted that this evidence was never investigated and alleged that the fingerprints were covertly destroyed by the Los Angeles Police Department (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Similar themes of evidence destruction reappeared throughout other areas of the trial from other witnesses, including two noted cash bribes from Combs to hotel employees in hopes of permanently eliminating any footage from the aforementioned 2016 hotel kidnapping scene (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025).

Upon analyzing evidence of powerful public and private sector relationships, bribes for the destruction of abuse footage, and witness testimonies of involvement with violent schemes and illegal substances, the interplay of corruption perpetuating larger human trafficking operations is evident not only in commonly examined sectors but also in this sphere of pop culture.

Money Laundering - Background Research

            Lastly, in order to grow and exist long-term, criminal operations that stem from corruption must rely on deceptive financial flows to avoid the detection of their fraudulent actions (Palsey, 2025). The process of money laundering hinges on layering numerous funding streams and activities to appear legitimate and hide illegal origins/destinations (Lormel, 2025). While legitimate transactions are often straightforward and linear, fraudulent funds can hide behind an array of deceptive red flags (Gurdak, 2025). Notable money laundering indicators include alternate people or names attached to normally low-risk purchases, intermingling of business and personal purchases, numerous bank accounts and/or branches, and a combination of continuous debt with simultaneous possession of large quantities of cash (Gurdak, 2025). Tracking these financial indicators can prove vital in tracing leads to motivators, suspects, and eventual evidence of fraud (Gurdak, 2025).

Money Laundering - Case Study Research and Analysis

            Through the lens of money laundering indicators with layering of transactions as a means of hiding illegal activities, numerous elements of the United States v Combs trial stand out. First, DHS presented evidence of drugs discovered in raids that were prescribed to the name “Frank Black” (McPhee, 2025). Further investigation revealed numerous transactions under this same name at hotels Combs frequented for his parties, as well as numerous accounts with this name logged in on Combs’ personal laptop (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Thus, at the trial, it was deduced that “Frank Black” was an alias used by Combs as a means of layering transactions that he did not want linked to his own name (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). Upon further investigation into the prescribers of the specific drugs linked to this alias, it was discovered that the originating medical office had a covert history of prescribing medically unnecessary drugs to those willing to pay a certain financial price. This same medical office connected to Combs is also linked to prescribing the ketamine that caused the death of the late actor Matthew Perry (McPhee, 2025).

            In addition to aliases as a means to conceal transactions and fraud, witness testimonies and DHS raids consistently noted large sums of cash. Of note, the two aforementioned evidence-destruction related bribes presented to hotel staff were reported in the trial to be strictly in cash form and amounting to up to $100,000 (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025). For human trafficking related transactions where cash was not feasible, the trial revealed that Combs leveraged his multiple businesses as a method for layering financial flows to make them appear legitimate. Combs had oversight over a wide variety of legitimate business entities, including a recording studio, record labels, branded alcoholic spirits, an apparel line, a marketing agency, and a television network/media company (Department of Justice, 2024). Compounding with Combs’ former CFO’s evidence of personal transactions on company cards, DHS presented hard evidence of escort payments charged to an account owned by Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide. Further evidence presented by special agents pinpointed $944,059 of Combs’ personal debt that was paid through multiple cards linked to accounts of various businesses overseen by Combs (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025).

Beyond tangible transactions, Combs directly utilized employee hours, paid through official wages, for human trafficking operations. Multiple former employees testified that it was part of their daily duties at any given moment to book hotel rooms for Combs, prepare the hotel rooms with baby oil, candles, and other items, schedule and transport escorts, supply various drugs to victims, act as stand-by personnel outside hotel rooms during parties, and promptly rid rooms of any human trafficking evidence before hotel cleaning staff had the chance to enter (Charalambous, Katersky, Margolin, Simpson, & Morris, 2025).

            In a full circle analysis, this perspective of the Combs case study presents hard evidence of fraudulent financial transactions, aliases, and accounts while also highlighting the covert involvement of Combs’ businesses and employees to continuously fund human trafficking operations. While human trafficking and money laundering are linked in numerous other sectors of research, the RICO trial of Sean Combs exemplifies how these themes interact in the hidden realities of pop culture power.

Conclusion

            Thorough analysis of the 2025 RICO trial, the United States v Combs, as a case study for human trafficking, corruption, and money laundering, various layers of hard evidence and verbal testimonies build on one another to reveal an exemplified picture of these three pillars serving as the foundation to some of Hollywood’s most powerful celebrities. Human trafficking definitions are all met, past and ongoing corruption surrounds operations, and routine money laundering practices link Combs’ personal and professional assets to the ongoing funding and facilitation of these illegal operations.

Noting that Combs was not fully convicted of RICO due to moral and technical debates over consent and group actions, the jury nor the defense fully refuted the hard evidence nor testimony examined in this case study (Winton & Brown, 2025). In conclusion, the indictment and trial of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs for racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution prove power built off human trafficking, corruption, and money laundering stretch into a rarely investigated world of pop culture. This case study thus warrants additional investigation into the core, illegal pillars possibly hidden under the empire known as fortune and fame.

References

Cassella, S. (2025, June 3). “Overview of Asset Forfeiture.” Presented at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.

Charalambous, P., Katersky, A., Margolin, J., Simpson, T., & Morris, K. (2025, June 24). “Everyone who testified for the prosecution in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial.” ABC News. Retrieved July 27, 2025, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/testified-sean-diddy -combs-trial-recap/story?id=122208125

Department of Justice. (2024, September 16) U.S. v Combs Indictment. Department of Justice. Retrieved July 27, 2025, from https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/media/1368556/dl Gurdak, S. (2025, June 17). “Money as Evidence.” Presented at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.

Lormel, D. (2025, July 1). “Introduction to Terrorism & Terrorist Financing.” Presented at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. Mcphee, M. (2025, May 20).

“Santa Monica Doctors Come Under Scrutiny in Sean "Diddy" Combs Federal Trial in NYC.” Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved July 27, 2025, from https://lamag.com/news/santa-monica-doctors-come-under-scrutiny-in-sean-diddy-combs-federal-trial-in-nyc

Pasley, B. (2025, June 24). “The Many Faces of Corruption” Presented at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.

Strandlie, C. (2025, July 8). “Human Trafficking” Presented at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York. (2024, September 17). Press Release: Sean Combs Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking And Other Federal Offenses. Department of Justice. Retrieved July 27, 2025, from https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/sean-combs-charged-manhattan-federal-court-sex-trafficking-and-other-federal-offenses Winton, R., & Brown, A. (2025, July 2).

“Why feds failed to convict Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs on biggest charges. ‘The government overreached’.” Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 27, 2025, from ttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-02/why-prosecutors-failed-convict-sean-diddy-combs-biggest-charges