Who is Marc Agnifilo? Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer arrested

Hip-hop artist and music industry mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested on September 16 following a federal grand jury indictment.

By previous Newsweek According to reports, the indictment comes after years of allegations of abuse, sexual assault and sex trafficking against Combs.

The indictment is currently sealed, but is expected to be unsealed on September 17 by the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to unseal the indictment this morning and we will have more details to share at that time.

— SDNY U.S. Attorney (@SDNYnews) September 17, 2024

Marc Agnifilo of the Agnifilo Law Group is representing Combs in court.

What is Marc Agnifilo’s background?

Agnifilo received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Connecticut College in 1986, according to a resume available for download on his law firm’s website.

He then received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1990, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award for outstanding trial advocacy performance.

Agnifilo is a member of several bars, including the New York State Bar, the New Jersey State Bar, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey, the United States Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Who else has Marc Agnifilo represented?

Prior to working for Combs, Agnifilo worked on several high-profile and controversial cases, including representing Keith Raniere, the founder of NXIVM, which began as a multi-level marketing company that evolved into what has been described as a “cult-like” group.

Raniere was charged with sex trafficking and racketeering and in 2019 was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1.75 million after being convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes.

Agnifilo also represented Roger Ng, a Goldman Sachs employee who was convicted in 2022 of bribery and kickbacks in a scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, the LA Times reported.

“The harm done to the Malaysian people is immeasurable,” the prosecutor said in closing arguments. “It is deeply unfair to all those who play by the rules.”

Ng’s lawyers argued that he was being made a scapegoat for crimes committed by others.

“Roger is kind of the scapegoat for this whole thing,” Agnifilo said at the time.

What did Agnifilo say about Diddy?

On September 16, Agnifilo told TMZ after his client’s arrest: “We are disappointed by the decision to pursue what we consider to be an unfair prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

He added: “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal.”

He later told TMZ that Combs voluntarily moved to New York last week to cooperate with the investigation, saying, “These are the actions of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Newsweek contacted Marc Agnifilo for comment outside of business hours and will update this article with any response.

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