A Michigan inmate, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, has won a $100 million default judgment against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in a sexual assault lawsuit.
The judgment, confirmed by Billboard through court records, was issued after Combs failed to appear in court or respond to the lawsuit. Cardello-Smith, one of several individuals accusing Combs of sexual abuse, claims the rapper drugged and assaulted him at a party in 1997.
Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, denied that his client had been served the lawsuit and called the judgment fraudulent, stating that Combs had no knowledge of the case. He suggested they would seek to have the judgment overturned.
Diddy has faced multiple legal challenges over the past year, including accusations from his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and is under a possible federal investigation.
Despite denying the accusations, Combs apologized for a video showing him assaulting Ventura, calling his behavior “inexcusable.”
Cardello-Smith, currently serving decades-long prison sentences for sexual assault and kidnapping, claims Combs visited him in prison and offered $2.3 million to settle the case, which he refused. He has previously filed other lawsuits, including one against a Catholic archdiocese, which was dismissed due to the statute of limitations.
