What to know about Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial: Charges, allegations and more

The case, United States v. Combs, goes to trial in downtown Manhattan this month.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Sean “Diddy” Combs reigned over American hip-hop. He produced chart-topping albums, launched an influential record label, recorded hit songs, inked lucrative branding deals and catapulted hip-hop into a worldwide cultural force.

But over the last two years, Combs’ empire has come crashing down amid a wave of sexual abuse and misconduct allegations. The scrutiny on the mogul reached an apex in September when he was indicted by federal prosecutors in a sweeping sex trafficking case.

Sean Combs in Los Angeles in 2017.Chris Pizzello / AP/Invision fileThe case, United States v. Combs, goes to trial in downtown Manhattan this month. Combs has pleaded not guilty and vehemently denied wrongdoing. Here’s what you need to know about the allegations, the charges, the defense and more.

The prosecution’s case against Combs, 55, centers on “elaborate and produced sex performances” known as “freak offs.” Combs, prosecutors allege in their indictment, orchestrated marathon hotel room encounters involving heavy drug use and coerced sex.

Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” prosecutors write in the 14-page indictment, which has been updated three times since September.