Imprisoned rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs could soon face additional legal jeopardy as he serves a 50-month prison sentence at a New Jersey federal facility, after the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office confirmed it is reviewing sexual assault allegations made by a Hollywood publicist to authorities in Florida last year.
On Tuesday, the office led by Nathan Hochman confirmed Combs is the subject of a probe in L.A. The investigation stems from allegations of sexual battery made by publicist Jonathan Hay, who filed a report in September 2025 in Largo, Florida, just before Combs’ sentencing and after his federal trial ended in a split verdict. The case was referred to L.A. authorities because the alleged incidents occurred there in 2020 and 2021. In September 2025, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said Hay’s accusations were being reviewed by its Special Victims Bureau.
The two alleged incidents of sexual battery occurred during moments when Hay was alone with Combs while working on remix sessions involving Christopher Wallace, the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s son. Hay, present that day as part of a photo shoot, claims the 2020 incident involved Combs masturbating into a shirt belonging to the late Notorious B.I.G. Combs, he claims, “removed the shirt to uncover his penis and told Hay to come finish him off.” According to Hay’s account, Combs then ejaculated and threw the shirt at him.
Hay alleged that in 2021, Combs forced him to perform oral sex. He stated that he had suicidal ideation after the incident.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors are now evaluating evidence submitted by local investigators; no charging decision has been announced.
Hay told CNN he had contemplated coming forward roughly 10 months before Combs’ girlfriend of a decade, singer Cassie Ventura, filed the civil case that eventually helped trigger last summer’s federal trial — and which Ventura settled for $20 million the day after it was filed.
Hay’s allegations first surfaced in a civil suit filed anonymously in July against Combs, Wallace, and others, in which Hay claimed they “conspired” with the powerful mogul to “allow or assist in Combs’ ability to carry out” the alleged sexual battery. Wallace responded with a defamation suit against Hay, claiming Hay was upset that music recorded in 2020 was never released by the Notorious B.I.G.’s estate.
Responding to the D.A.’s office decision this week, Hay said in a statement that he is pleased the case is moving forward.
“Standing as a survivor of the actions involving Sean Diddy Combs and Christopher CJ Wallace, I view the validation of my accounts by the LAPD and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as a critical juncture,” he said. “This development represents a substantial advancement in my pursuit of complete accountability. Justice is prevailing.”
Combs has denied the allegations in Hay’s suit and all other claims against him. In addition to this potential L.A. indictment, he faces roughly 70 civil complaints related to his alleged conduct over the years, most involving claims of drugging and sexual assault.
Combs and Ventura, who have not been a couple for nearly a decade, are named together in one of those cases. Sex worker Clayton Howard, whom the couple allegedly hired, claims abuse by both Ventura and Combs. Howard alleges in his complaint that he impregnated Ventura during a drug-fueled encounter and contracted a sexually transmitted infection after participating in a “freak-off” with the couple.
In a declaration requesting that Howard’s legal action be transferred from L.A. to New York, Ventura revealed she has left the country, stating: “I am not a resident of the State of California. I reside outside of the United States. I do not intend to move back to the United States.”
Ventura has also filed a countersuit against Wallace, denying his claims.
In July, a jury found Combs guilty of two federal counts of transportation to engage in prostitution; he was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. In October, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison, which he is serving in New Jersey while his attorneys appeal the case.
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