Diddy's lawyer's identity: the 'savior' of many shocking 'obscene' cases?

Marc Agnifilo - Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyer in the lawsuit is a seasoned person in dealing with cases that shake public opinion.

The lawsuit, filed by singer Cassie Ventura against Sean "Diddy" Combs with shocking allegations of 'obscenity' trafficking and a decade of physical abuse, shocked the music industry last November and sparked a series of lawsuits against the mogul.

It also sparked a federal investigation into 'vulgar' crimes with the largest number of records in years. On Sept. 17, prosecutors detailed what they found: a group known as a "criminal enterprise" headed by Combs that carried out "tough" transportation, brokering, "interacting" with women that began at least 2008. However, to date, Combs still denies these allegations.

If convicted, Combs, 54, faces up to 15 years to life in prison. As the founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, Diddy is recognized as one of the promoters of hip-hop music commercialization with an estimated net worth of up to $1 billion.

And the person who defended Combs in this case that shook the music industry was Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer with extensive experience in solving complex cases involving criminal enterprises, like the one Combs is facing.

Agnifilo is a former Manhattan District Attorney and a former supervisor at the U.S. Attorney's Office, known for spending nearly two decades working for Combs' longtime attorney Ben Brafman. Prior to that, Brafman was an attorney representing Combs for decades and particularly successfully defended the tycoon in the 1999 New York nightclub case as well as many civil lawsuits that shocked public opinion years later.

Until earlier this year, Agnifilo and his colleagues had set up their own criminal law firm. In particular, Agnifilo with the support of Teny Geragos became the defense team for Combs in this case.

Previously, the two had defended many celebrities who were seriously punished such as former Goldman Sachs executive, Roger Ng on bribery and corruption charges, or Keith Raniere, the founder of the NXIVM cult on charges of "obscenity" trading. But things didn't go in his favor when Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison in 2019.

"I specialize in sensitive and high-profile issues," Agnifilo said, noting that the majority of cases involving allegations brought by the Southern District of New York, including those involving the Silk Road black market website and the international "tough" ring involved in the fall of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The duo was hired by Combs in March to coordinate his defense in federal court. Agnifilo said that at the court hearing on September 17, they immediately conducted research on the direction of the indictment. At the same time, they also interviewed a number of witnesses in the past 6 months.

Predicting that Agnifilo will fight back in the direction that many of the women and prostitutes who have sex with Combs are willing for their own reasons — be it for money or career advancement.

To the south, the notorious rapper, is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York (USA). The place where Diddy is held is likened to "hell on earth". Diddy's side once offered to pay a huge amount of 50 million USD (more than 1,200 billion VND) for the rapper to be released on bail, but this request was rejected. After being detained, Diddy was said to have signs of psychological shock when extremely confused and worried. He lost his appetite and sleep for fear of being harmed. Therefore, Diddy was put under surveillance to prevent him from thinking badly in prison.