Sean Combs, a rapper and record executive who made headlines when he bought a $21.1 million Kerry James Marshall painting in 2018, was sentenced in federal court on Friday to 50 months, or 4 years and 2 months. He was also fined $500,000, the maximum amount allowable by law.
The rapper, who also went by the name Diddy, was accused of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution. He was acquitted of the racketeering and sex trafficking charges, but he was convicted on two counts of transportation for prostitution, both of which carried maximum sentences of up to 10 years each.
Throughout the trial, which began in May, Combs maintained his innocence amid testimony from his ex-girlfriend, the singer Cassie Ventura, who alleged years of physical and sexual abuse. Combs was also accused of abuse and sexual assault by an anonymous former employee.
The sentencing hearing lasted all day Friday, with prosecutors, Combs’s defense team, his six adult children, and Combs all testifying. Prosecutor Christy Slavik said Combs is a “master puppeteer of his own image” and asked the judge not believe that Combs is a changed man, while Marc Agnifilo, who led Combs’s defense team, said “this has just been a devastating, destructive case for this man on the largest of stages,” according to a report by the New York Times.
During his 12-minute statement, Combs called his behavior “disgusting, shameful and sick”; said he had “nobody to blame but myself”; and begged the judge for “mercy,” according to the Times. He apologized to Ventura before concluding his statement by saying, “No matter what anybody says, I know that I’m truly sorry for it all.”
Ahead of issuing the sentence, Judge Arun Subramanian, of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, said that “a history of good works can’t wash away the record in this case, which shows that you abused the power and control over the lives of women who you professed to love,” according to the Times.
Subramanian called the prosecution’s request for more than 11 years “not reasonable” but said the defense’s request for 14 months not enough to convey the seriousness of the offense, adding that the fine was imposed because of Combs’s “immense financial resources,” which the judge said, “enabled his crimes,” per the Times. He ended his ruling by saying, “To Ms. Ventura and the other brave survivors that came forward, I want to say first: We heard you.”
Combs has widely been reported to be an art collector, though it’s not entirely clear what works beyond the Marshall are in his holdings. That collection may not be his for much longer, however. Reports from earlier this year mentioned that the Department of Justice intended to seize his assets if he were to be found guilty of sex trafficking.
His purchase of the Marshall painting at Sotheby’s in 2018 was perceived as a major purchase. Swizz Beatz, a record producer and art collector, told ARTnews that Combs had made the acquisition at his behest.
Combs’s purchase of the painting, titled Past Times (1997), set Marshall’s auction record at the time and made him the most expensive living African American artist. The work is now included in Marshall’s Royal Academy of Arts retrospective in London, where wall text notes that the painting is held in a private collection, without specifying its owner.
The few remaining hints at the contents of Combs’s collections come via an Artnet News report from 2024 that stated that he owns a neon sculpture by Tracey Emin, as well as works by the sculptor Brett Murray and the creative studio Random International, which is best known for its installation Rain Room.
