Sean 'Diddy' Combs could potentially face new sexual battery charges in California, even as he sits in a federal prison in New Jersey. On Monday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office confirmed to the Daily Mail that Diddy, 56, is facing a new criminal probe, even as he tries to get his federal conviction overturned.
According to Venusse D. Dunn, the DA's chief of communications, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) presented separate presentations on their investigations into a single alleged victim's claims to the District Attorney's Office. Dunn added that the case is currently under review.
The alleged victim is celebrity publicist Jonathan Hay, who also filed a lawsuit in July 2025 against Diddy. In his civil complaint, obtained by the Daily Mail, he alleges that the rapper sexually battered him. The Daily Mail has reached out to Diddy's representatives for comment but has not yet received a response. He has previously denied all allegations leveled against him.
Allegations and Legal Proceedings
In November 2025, Jonathan Davis, a civil attorney for Diddy, issued a blanket denial to CNN in response to Hay's lawsuit. 'As Mr. Combs's legal team has repeatedly stated for over a year now, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a media circus. Let me make it absolutely clear, Mr. Combs categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone,' Davis said. 'He looks forward to vindicating himself in court, where such matters are decided – and not in the media – based on admissible, material evidence, not rank speculation and unsubstantiated allegations.'
In a statement to the Daily Mail on Monday, Hay called himself a 'survivor' of Diddy and said that 'having my painful experiences heard and validated by the LAPD and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is an undeniable turning point.' He continued, 'This progress marks a significant victory in my fight for total accountability. I am certain that justice will be achieved and that full responsibility will be enforced.'
In 2025, Hay filed a police report alleging that he had been sexually battered by the rapper in 2020, followed by a second incident in 2021. According to TMZ, which first reported on the DA's probe, Hay filed his police report in his hometown of Largo, Florida, but it was subsequently transferred to Los Angeles, as that's where the alleged crimes took place.
Details of the Alleged Incidents
Hay said he had been enlisted to help remix a track originally recorded by Christopher Wallace, who also went by The Notorious B.I.G. Wallace was only 24 when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in 1997. Hay was working on the Biggie Smalls tribute project remix with the late rapper's son, CJ Wallace, who was also named as a defendant in his lawsuit for allegedly conspiring to 'allow or assist in Combs' ability to carry out' his sexual battery. The Daily Mail has reached out to Wallace's representatives for comment.
In his civil suit, Hay said that Diddy, who was a close friend and collaborator of Wallace's, dropped by the studio during a September 2020 session and criticized the music they had worked on so far and urged him to take ketamine to make the music sound better. Hay's suit said he later accompanied Diddy and some of his entourage to a warehouse in Los Angeles, where some of the Notorious B.I.G.'s clothing was being stored before it would be donated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later that year.
Hay's lawsuit claimed he was left alone in a room with Diddy, who allegedly proceeded to masturbate onto a shirt that had belonged to his late friend. The civil suit alleged that Diddy then ordered Hay to 'come finish him off' to reach climax. According to the civil suit, Diddy allegedly ejaculated onto the shirt and then tossed the soiled clothing at Hay, which contaminated his own clothing. 'Rest in peace BIG,' he claimed Diddy said after throwing the shirt at him.
Hay's civil suit went on to allege that his interactions with Diddy escalated months later in March 2021, when the disgraced mogul allegedly grabbed his head and forced Hay to perform oral sex on him against his will. The publicist added that the alleged experience left him feeling suicidal.
Counterclaims and Legal Maneuvers
According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, CJ Wallace, who was named as a defendant in Hay's lawsuit, subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against Hay, in which he alleged that Hay falsely accused him because he was upset that the Biggie Smalls estate opted not to release most of the songs he worked on. In Wallace's complaint, filed in federal court in Florida in November 2025, he said he sent a cease-and-desist to Hay after the publicist threatened to release the tracks he had worked on without the approval of the estate.
The son of Biggie Smalls denied in his lawsuit Hay's claim that he and other associates of Diddy had conspired to bring him to the photoshoot where Diddy allegedly sexually assaulted him. The lawsuit also accused Hay of engaging in a 'smear campaign' by making claims in interviews that Wallace had allegedly had a sexual relationship with Diddy and that he had attended the rap mogul's infamous 'freak-off' parties.
Wallace's attorney, Jeremiah Reynolds, said in a statement to CNN: 'Jonathan Hay's allegations against CJ Wallace will be shown to be a complete fantasy, totally devoid of reality. We look forward to Hay eventually being held liable in court for defamation.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Hay for additional comment on Wallace's lawsuit.
In early May, Wallace filed a motion for default judgment in response to delays in serving Hay and his failure to respond to the lawsuit. The judge overseeing the case endorsed the default judgment on May 6, but before a final order was issued, Hay responded on May 26 with a motion to set aside the default because he had allegedly not been properly notified, as he claimed he had been occupied by pursuing his civil case in California and assisting the police investigation in Los Angeles.
Hay denied Wallace's defamation claims and said in court filings that his statements were protected by the First Amendment, 'including the right to report crimes and participate in law enforcement investigations.'
Current Status and Federal Conviction
According to the LA County District Attorney's Office, police presented their investigations into Hay's allegations in the fall of 2025, and the case is still under review. The current investigations in Los Angeles come after Diddy was convicted in federal court on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution. However, the jury found him not guilty of the most severe charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. In October of last year, the music executive was sentenced to four years in prison, minus a year he had already spent in jail, and five years of supervised release to follow. As of June 1, Combs is expected to be released in late February 2028.
In November 2025, CNN obtained emails showing that Hay had contacted a civil attorney to consider pursuing his claims against Diddy in March 2023, which preceded a lawsuit brought against the rapper by his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, which he ultimately settled just a day after she filed it. Hay told CNN that he was 'terrified' to take his claims against Diddy public, but in the wake of lawsuits from Ventura and multiple other women, he filed his civil lawsuit in July 2025, shortly after Diddy's conviction.
He told the news outlet that he hoped to see Diddy go straight back to prison over his criminal allegations once he is released from federal prison. 'I'm hoping that when [Diddy] gets out of jail that he is taken straight to jail in California, or to go through the court proceedings in California, and that he spends the rest of his life in jail,' Hay said.
