Sean “Diddy” Combs accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in Englewood, New Jersey

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and R&B singer Aaron Hall allegedly took turns sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in a Bergen County apartment in 1990 when Jodeci DeVanté Swing member did nothing to stop it – a recently amended lawsuit filed in federal court in New Jersey, according to an anonymous source.

Liza Gardner is seeking more than $10 million in financial, physical and psychological damages in a New Jersey District Court lawsuit against Bad Boys Records founder Hall and Swing, who was added as a co-defendant on October 8, and their record labels. Gardner claims she was drawn into a sex trafficking scheme in which she and her 15-year-old friend were drugged and given alcohol, then taken to Hall’s home in Englewood, where Gardner was raped. The next day, the charges say, she was attacked and choked by Combs until she lost consciousness.

The explosive lawsuit, which was originally filed in U.S. District Court in New York in 2023 and then refiled and amended in New Jersey earlier this month, is one of a string of mounting legal issues involving Combs, 54, known as “Diddy ” or his previous stage name “Puff Daddy.”

The embattled rapper is currently facing more than a dozen civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and rape. Five new accusers came forward last week with claims dating back as far as 2000 to 2022. Among the latest are a woman who claims she was 13 when she was attacked by then-30-year-old Combs at a 2020 MTV Video Music Awards after-party, and a personal trainer celebrity who accuses Combs of sexual assault during the 2022 awards afterparty.

The weekly lawsuits filed against Combs appear to be just the tip of the iceberg. Earlier this month, during a news conference, Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said he was preparing lawsuits from 120 people raising allegations of sexual abuse and sexual assault. And these are just Buzbee customers; Tyrone Blackburn, a Brooklyn attorney, represents Gardner in her legal filings.

Combs’ legal problems follow his Arrested in September AND arraignment for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation for prostitution charges. The rapper, who maintained his innocence throughout all applications and proceedings, remains in custody in custody Brooklyn Detention Center after he was refused bail.

The criminal charges and lawsuits against Combs come nearly a year after the rapper’s ex-girlfriend and R&B singer Casandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, accused Combs of rapesex trafficking and physical violence. Combs and Ventura settled for an undisclosed amount the day after she filed the claim – although her eagerness to file led to a slew of other lawsuits.

Yonatan Jacobs, listed as Combs’ attorney in the Gardner case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sending a message that he was out of the office until Oct. 25. Lawyers for Sher Tremonte and Jacobs’ associates Michael Tremonte and Anna Estevao, each associated with Combs in other legal filings, also did not immediately respond to requests.

However, Combs’ legal team has repeatedly given USA TODAY the same answer regarding the legal filings against him, stating that he has confidence in the facts, his legal defense and the fairness of the judicial process.

“In court, the truth will prevail: Mr. Combs has never committed sexual violence – against an adult or a minor, male or female.”

Hall, who lives in Ohio, and Swing, who lives in North Carolina, were served with the amended lawsuit on Oct. 23, and their attorneys have not yet appeared, according to court records.

Sean “Diddy” Combs allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl in an Englewood apartment

Combs was known for hosting lavish star-studded parties that investigators say ended with kinky sexual performances that he allegedly arranged and recorded to “fulfill his sexual desires.”

In the late summer/early fall of 1990, Gardner said she was invited to New Jersey from her home in North Carolina by her friends Swing and Dalvin DeGrate, who are brothers, as well as fellow Jodeci members (and brothers) K-Ci and JoJo . The quartet signed to Uptown Records and was produced by Combs, with his record company paying for a house in New Jersey.

After attending a music industry event in New York and having dinner with Jodeci, Combs and Hall, during which Gardner claims she and her friend were supplied with alcohol and marijuana, the girls were taken to Hall’s apartment in Englewood, according to the lawsuit. At the time, Hall was part of the R&B group Guy, which found success in the late 1980s.

Gardner stated that after being offered more alcohol, she was physically forced to have sex with Combs. Gardner didn’t know it at the time, but according to the newly amended filing, Swing was in the room when the assault occurred “and took no steps to prevent the harassment.” Swing is called Gardner’s “presumptive co-guardian” because he was 21, just a few months older than Combs at the time. He is accused of “aiding and abetting” her sexual assault by treating her rape as a “live pornographic video.”

Gardner said that when Combs finished, she was “shocked and traumatized,” and while she was getting dressed, Hall “barged into the room, restrained her” and forced her to have sex, the lawsuit states. Another friend later told Gardner that she also had sex with Combs and Hall and that the men “swapped” rooms between the girls, the suit states.

The next day, Combs allegedly went to the New Jersey home where Gardner was staying and became angry, attacked and choked her until she passed out, the lawsuit alleges. Combs was allegedly looking for her friend, who he feared would report the assault the night before, and asked Gardner where she was. When Gardner stated she wasn’t sure, Combs allegedly choked her, the lawsuit states, citing an affidavit written by a friend of Gardner’s.

The lawsuit includes a photo of Gardner, Hall and her friend, whose face is blurred, the date of the alleged incident, as well as video excerpts from interviews Hall has given over the years, including one for VladTV in which he appears to acknowledge Jodeci and “Puffy ” he saw him having sex.

The therapist stated that Gardner, whom she treated in 2014, disclosed her alleged rapes and in her notes quoted that she believed Gardner was experiencing symptoms of anxiety, hypervigilance, panic attacks and depression, all symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawsuit alleges numerous physical and mental ailments, ranging from bodily pain and psychological trauma to loss of enjoyment of life.

The lawsuit also names UMG Recordings, Universal Music Group and several unnamed parties.

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