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Diddy is on the hook for $100 million after losing a default judgment to a Michigan inmate who claims the hip-hop mogul drugged and sexually assaulted him nearly 30 years ago.
During a virtual hearing with the Lenawee County Circuit Court on Monday (September 9), 51-year-old inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith was automatically granted a $100 million judgment by default after Sean "Diddy" Combs failed to show up to the hearing, per People.
Cardello-Smith, who is serving up to 75 years behind bars on first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges, filed a complaint against Diddy in June claiming he drugged and sexually assaulted at a party in Detroit in 1997. He also alleged that Diddy visited him in prison and offered $2.3 million to dismiss the lawsuit, the Guardian reports.
The inmate, who the Detroit Metro Times reported has "a long history of challenging the judicial system" with lawsuits, was granted a temporary restraining order against the embattled mogul in August that would stop him from selling assets that could be used to "compensate" the inmate for "possible damages."
Following the court's ruling, Diddy's attorney Marc Agnifilo issued a statement to People slamming Cardello-Smith as a "predator" that Diddy has "never heard of" and noting that they are looking to have the $100 million judgment dismissed.
"This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years," Agnifilo said. "His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed."