To escape conviction on sex trafficking trafficking charges and potential life imprisonment, Sean “Diddy” Combs has spared no expense in hiring a “who’s who” of defense attorneys, some of whom have been involved in representing some of today’s biggest celebrity defendants, according to a report.
That includes Linda Moreno, a New York City-based attorney who has helped with jury selection, just as she did for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, Vulture reported.
Jury selection in Combs’ case wrapped up Monday in a New York City federal courtroom, and opening statements are underway, reports said. The embattled music mogul faces five counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty.
On Monday, these newly selected jurors also are expected to hear testimony from Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Her explosive lawsuit against Combs in 2023 helped spurred the federal investigation, which has led to the downfall of the rapper and music executive, who once was estimated by Forbes to be worth $740 million, according to the Washington Post. In her lawsuit, Ventura alleged years of physical and sexual abuse, coercion and sex trafficking, which included Combs forcing her to participate in sex parties, called “freak offs.”
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, center, arrives at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Combs no doubts hopes that Moreno can do a better job of helping to choose a panel of sympathetic jurors than she did for Holmes. After the conclusion of Holmes’ four-month federal trial in San Jose in late 2021, the jurors in her case found her guilty of four counts of felony criminal fraud for conning investors in her now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup Theranos out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
While Holmes’ jurors found her “likable” during her seven days of testimony, they also found that she wasn’t credible — and that she bore the ultimate responsibility for information disseminated to investors, one of the jurors told ABC News in early 2022.
Then again, Holmes’ jurors were sympathetic to some of the defense arguments, as the juror, Wayne Katz, told ABC News. Holmes, who gave birth to the first of her two children before her trial began, was originally charged with 11 counts of fraud, but the verdict was split. The jurors acquitted her of four of the charges related to defrauding patients, and deadlocked on another three.
While Holmes was pregnant with her second child, her trial judge sentenced her to 11 years and three months in prison. She is currently serving time at federal prison camp in Texas. Holmes also just lost her latest bid to appeal her case. Last week, a three-judge panel with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected her latest bid to overturn her felony fraud conviction and prison sentence, narrowing her options for early freedom to a Hail Mary appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or a presidential pardon.
With Combs, there’s, of course, only so much his lawyers and jury consultant can do on his behalf. A lot depends on the strength of the prosecution’s case. But Combs appears to be sparing no expense to give himself the best shot at an acquittal, according to Vulture.
“I expect Diddy to spend eight figures or more than $10 million on defense fees when it’s all said it done. Top-tier criminal defense attorneys in complex federal cases charge retainers of $1 million or more,” Neama Rahmani, founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Vulture. “Diddy has a small army of lawyers working on his case. That’s expected when his net worth was reportedly $1 billion and his life is on the line.”
His lead defense counsel is Marc Agnifilo, who has represented Martin Shkreli and NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere and is currently on the legal team for UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione, according to Vulture. Agnifilo is expected to argue that Combs’ sexual encounters with his former partners, including Ventura, were consensual as part of a “swingers” lifestyle.
Combs’ defense team also also includes Teny Geragos, the daughter of famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, and Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug.
