Diddy argues that Abercrombie & Fitch's ex-CEO is out on bail on serial sex-trafficking charges

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries, left, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

In a third bid for bail, lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs argue that ex-Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries has remained free pending his own federal sex-trafficking case — and so the rap mogul should be released pending trial, too.

Jeffries was quickly granted $10 million bail, without prosecution opposition, after his arrest four weeks ago on charges similar to those faced by Combs. Federal prosecutors allege that for decades, both men used their wealth and the power of their brands to coerce victims into participating in drug-fueled sex parties. Both men have denied the allegations.

Comparisons of Jeffries and Combs are promising to be a prominent part of bail arguments scheduled for Friday in Manhattan.

During Combs’ last court date on Tuesday, US District Judge Arun Subramanian told prosecutors he is eager to hear their views on why the federal government agreed to bail in one case and not the other.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik said she would be prepared to detail how the cases are highly unalike. On Friday morning, prosecutors submitted a two-page letter to the judge that broke down the differences between the two sex-trafficking defendants.

Unlike Jeffries, Combs is charged with racketeering for allegedly running a criminal enterprise “that included repeated acts of violence by Combs and his co-conspirators, including multiple acts involving kidnapping, arson, and forced labor,” prosecutors wrote.

Also unlike Jeffries, Combs is accused of using firearms. “As recently as March 2024, firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, were recovered from Combs’ residences,” prosecutors wrote, referring to weapons seized via a search warrant executed on his Miami and Los Angeles homes.

Combs continues to obstruct justice by contacting witnesses and victims while in jail, prosecutors alleged in Friday’s letter. And unlike the 80-year-old Jeffries, who has no criminal history, Combs “has been arrested and investigated multiple times for crimes of violence and obstruction.”

Combs’ legal team said in a letter sent to the judge Thursday that the two former fashion executives have similar indictments and are similarly accused of witness intimidation.

A third federal sex-trafficking defendant in an unrelated New York case was also allowed to post bail while fighting his case, lead attorney Marc Agnifilo wrote in the memo. That case involves an upstate New York man who remained free pending a January plea to federal sex-trafficking charges.

Prosecutors are fighting Combs’ bail offer, which includes a $50 million bond collateralized by his Miami mansion, plus home confinement with round-the-clock monitoring.

Last month, a different set of federal prosecutors approved Jeffries’ conditions of release, which “pale in comparison to the conditions proposed by Mr. Combs,” his lawyers had argued last week.

Prosecutors agreed to Jeffries’ release even after alleging that he and his codefendants used a security company to surveil and intimidate witnesses, “thereby securing their silence,” Combs’ lawyers argue.

Allegations of witness intimidation have impeded Combs’ bail efforts since mid-September when he was arrested in a five-star Midtown Manhattan hotel, the Park Hyatt New York, where he had been staying in anticipation of turning himself in.

The tampering allegations have intensified in the past week, with prosecutors alleging that Combs has been reaching out to witnesses through intermediaries.

Last week, prosecutors alleged Combs’ handwritten notes, photographed by federal prison officials during a late October raid, show he is using third parties to pay witnesses and to “find dirt” on victims. A grand jury is hearing evidence on those allegations, Slavik said. Combs’ handwritten notes are at the center of a separate, ongoing battle between the defense and prosecutors.

Combs is being held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn as he awaits a May 5 trial date.

He is charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he faces a sentence of at least 15 years and as much as life in prison.

Prosecutors say that beginning in 2009 and continuing to the present day, Combs engaged in a pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including at elaborate, drug-fueled sex parties called “freak offs.”

Combs has countered that the sexual behavior detailed in the indictment was consensual and that his accusers have financial motives to implicate him.

Combs’ two previous bids for bail were rejected by US District Court judges in September and October after prosecutors argued that the music entrepreneur used cash and coercion to foster a culture of fear and obedience in his inner circle.

Weapons, drugs, and supplies for future “freak offs” were recovered from Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles, prosecutors said.

“As two judges have already concluded based on the evidence in the record, the defendant poses serious risks of danger and obstruction to these proceedings,” prosecutors wrote last week in opposing this latest bail bid.

Even in jail, Combs has “orchestrated social media campaigns that are, in his own words, aimed at tainting the jury pool,” prosecutors wrote.

Combs has also “made efforts to publicly leak materials he views as helpful to his case; and contacted witnesses through third parties,” they wrote.

A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office and an attorney for Jeffries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Agnifilo declined to comment on this story, saying that he is only speaking about the case in the courtroom and in legal filings.