Sean 'Diddy' Combs is arrested by federal agents in New York

Sean “DD” Combs was arrested Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York City said.

Combs was arrested at the Park Hyatt Hotel on West 57th Street, a representative said. He was caught off-guard by the apprehension, according to a person familiar with the situation, who added that he had been living in the hotel for several weeks.

US Attorney Damian Williams confirmed in a statement that federal agents arrested Combs on Monday evening, based on a sealed complaint filed by the Southern District of New York.

“We hope to move forward with releasing the charges in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” Williams said.

Combs' attorney, Mark Agnifilo, expressed disappointment in a statement. He said Combs, 54, cooperated with the investigation and “voluntarily transferred to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.”

“Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has worked for the past 30 years to build an empire, cherish his children and improve the black community,” the statement read. “He's an imperfect person but he's not a criminal.”

“These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he is looking forward to clearing his name in court,” it added.

It was not immediately clear what charges Combs, the rapper-turned-music mogul, was arrested on.

Combs has faced a wave of lawsuits — as recent as last week — accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct since November, when ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura sued him in federal court, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse.

Ventura, who is best known by his stage name, Casey, was once signed to Combs' Bad Boy record label. The two settled his case a day after it was filed without disclosing the terms of the settlement. An attorney for Combs said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. He had earlier denied the allegations.

Since then, several others have sued, including Don Richard, who alleged that he bullied and threatened her while she was employed from 2005 to 2012, and that she saw him brutally beat Ventura. Combs vehemently denied the lawsuit's allegations, saying they were “sickening complaints” from people looking for a “quick payday.”

But in May, after CNN released hotel video of Combs kicking, punching and throwing Ventura to the floor in a Los Angeles hallway in 2016, he apologized in a video on Instagram saying his behavior was “inexcusable” and that he had sought therapy. The video was later removed from his page.

Richard, who was a member of the girl group Danity Kane, which Combs formed on the MTV reality competition “Making the Band” and later in the group Diddy – Dirty Money, sued Combs last week.

An attorney said Combs was “shocked and dismayed” by Richard's lawsuit, which, like Ventura's allegations, portrays him as controlling and violent.

Ventura's case included allegations of sex trafficking. She alleged that he frequently beat her, forced her to have sex with male prostitutes — drug-fueled encounters Combs referred to as “freak offs” and sometimes recorded — and it was in 2018, when he ended their relationship. Trying to make ends meet, he forced his way into her house and raped her.

Richard said in his suit that he attended a “drug-fueled party,” where guests had to surrender their phones. He also said he witnessed what he believed to be underage girls who had been drinking, being sexually harassed by Combs and his guests.

In March, federal investigators searched Combs' homes in Miami and Los Angeles.

Investigators have interviewed several people on allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault and the solicitation and distribution of illegal drugs and firearms, a source familiar with the investigation told NBC News in March.

The warrant to search Combs' property came from the Southern District of New York, NBC News reported.

Combs, who also went by names like Puffy, Puff Daddy and Love, founded Bad Boy in the early 1990s. Considered a trailblazer in hip-hop, fashion and media, he created the Sean John clothing line and launched the Revolt TV channel, which he sold his stake in that summer.

Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, a producer on Combs' most recent album, alleged in a lawsuit in February that Combs made unwanted sexual contacts, forced her to hire prostitutes and pressured her to participate in sexual acts with them. Jones said he lived and traveled with Combs from September 2022 to November 2023, during which time he recorded video and audio of Combs, his staff and others “engaging in serious illegal activity.”

His attorneys, Rodney S. Diggs and Tyrone Blackburn, who are representing the other Combs accusers, said Combs' “long-awaited arrest” was “an important step toward justice for all of Mr. Combs' victims.”

“We have left the criminal aspect of this case in the hands of the people and the justice system,” they said on Monday night. “As for the civil case, we bide our time for the facts to reveal themselves and seek the justice our clients deserve. We expect more victims to come forward. We knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear and it is only a matter of time.”

After the hotel video of Coombs attacking Ventura was released, Howard University cut ties with him. In June, the school revoked an honorary degree awarded to him and canceled a scholarship program in his name. That same month, Combs honored a request from New York Mayor Eric Adams and returned the keys to the city.

This month, Combs listed his Los Angeles home that was raided in March for $61.5 million.