Disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was transferred to the federal correctional institution at Fort Dix, N.J. to serve out his 50-month sentence. The New York Times reported that a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed on Thursday (Oct. 30) that 55-year-old Combs will be housed at FCI Fort Dix following his sentencing earlier this month to four years and two months in prison for two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
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Following his Oct. 3 sentencing, Combs’ lawyers asked judge Arun Subramanian to recommend that the Bureau of Prisons send their client to Fort Dix, “in order to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts.”
Combs, who will get credit for time served in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center (M.D.C.) in Brooklyn since his arrest in Sept. 2024, should be eligible for release in May 2028. During the eight-week trial, prosecutors called two of Combs’ former girlfriends to the stand to describe their participation in marathon, drug-fueled “freak-off” sex parties with hired male prostitutes. In July, the jury in the case acquitted Combs of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
As he begins his time at Fort Dix, Combs’ lawyers are attempting to expedite his criminal appeal, arguing that he could be close to the end of his sentence by the time his case is heard if forced to follow the typical, drawn-out argument timeline. Combs’ team is challenging both his July conviction and the resulting four-year prison sentence in the case.
In the Second Circuit Court of Appeals where Combs’ case will be heard, it can take nearly a year and a half on average to get a criminal appeal decided and his lawyers don’t want to wait that long. In a court filing on Tuesday (Oct. 29) they said Combs could complete most of his sentence during the appeal timeline. Combs has already gotten credit for time spent in jail since his arrest and could have his sentence further reduced for good behavior or participation in a drug abuse rehab program.
ABC News reported that Combs’ legal team requested the Fort Dix facility because it offers a special drug treatment program that, if he completes it successfully, could take time off his sentence. ABC quoted sources saying that Combs is not being housed in the prison’s general population, but in the special drug program unit.
In filings from Combs’ team before his sentencing, they said that during his time at M.D.C. their client was sober for the first time in 25 years and that he had been leading an informal six-week business and entrepreneurship education program for other inmates he called “Free Game with Diddy.”
While rumors of a potential pardon from Donald Trump have been floated in the press, on Oct. 21 the White House Communications Office threw cold water on a TMZ report that had quoted a “high-ranking White House official” saying that the president was considering commuting Combs’ sentence soon. “There is zero truth to the TMZ report, which we would’ve gladly explained had they reached out before running their fake news,” the White House spokesperson said.
Just days after Diddy’s sentencing, Trump confirmed that the producer’s legal team had officially requested a presidential pardon. “A lot of people have asked me for pardons,” the president said at the time. “I call him Puff Daddy. He has asked me for a pardon.”
