Jailed rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs may soon face additional legal jeopardy as he serves a 50-month prison sentence in a federal facility in New Jersey, after the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office confirmed it is reviewing sexual assault allegations made to authorities in Florida last year by a Hollywood actor.
On Tuesday, the office led by Nathan Hochman confirmed that Combs is the subject of an investigation in Los Angeles. The investigation stems from sexual assault allegations made by publicist Jonathan Hay, who filed a report in September 2025 in Largo, Florida, just before Combs was sentenced and after his federal trial ended in a split verdict. The case was referred to Los Angeles authorities because the alleged incidents occurred there in 2020 and 2021. In September 2025, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that Hay’s charges were under review by the Special Victims Bureau.
The two alleged sexual assault incidents occurred during moments when Hay was alone with Combs while working on remix sessions featuring Christopher Wallace, the son of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. Hay, who was present that day as part of a photo shoot, claims the 2020 incident involved Combs masturbating into a shirt that belonged to the late Notorious B.I.G. Combs and, he claims, “took the shirt off to reveal his penis and told Hay to come and finish him off.” According to Hay’s account, Combs ejaculated and threw the shirt at him.
Hay alleged that in 2021, Combs forced him to perform oral sex. He stated that he had suicidal thoughts after the incident.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors are now evaluating evidence presented by local investigators; A shipping decision has not been announced.
Hay told CNN he was considering filing a complaint about 10 months before Combs’ girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed the civil lawsuit that ultimately helped launch the federal trial last summer — which Ventura settled for $20 million the day after it was filed.
Hay’s allegations first surfaced in a civil lawsuit filed anonymously in July against Combs, Wallace and others, in which Hay claims they “conspired” with the powerful business mogul to “permit or aid Combs’ ability to carry out” the alleged sexual assault. Wallace responded with a defamation suit against Hay, claiming that Hay was upset that the music recorded in 2020 was never released by Notorious B.I.G.’s estate.
In response to the district attorney’s office’s decision this week, Hay said in a statement that he was pleased the case was moving forward.
“As a survivor of the actions involving Sean Diddy Combs and Christopher C.J. Wallace, I view the verification of my accounts by the LAPD and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as a critical turning point,” he said. “This development represents significant progress in my pursuit of full accountability. Justice prevails.”
Combs has denied the accusations in Hay’s lawsuit and all other allegations against him. In addition to the potential indictment in Los Angeles, he faces nearly 70 civil complaints related to his alleged conduct over the years, most of them related to drugging and sexual assault allegations.
Combs and Ventura, who haven’t been a couple in nearly a decade, were brought together in one of those cases. Sex worker Clayton Howard, who was allegedly hired by the couple, claims she was violated by both Ventura and Combs. Howard alleges in his complaint that he impregnated Ventura during a drug-fueled encounter and contracted a sexually transmitted infection after participating in a “freak out” with the couple.
In an announcement requesting that Howard’s legal action be moved from Los Angeles to New York, Ventura revealed that she had left the country, saying: “I am not a resident of the state of California. I reside outside of the United States. I do not intend to return to the United States.”
Ventura also filed a countersuit against Wallace, denying his claims.
In July, a jury found Combs guilty of two federal charges of transportation for prostitution; He was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. In October, he was sentenced to 50 months in prison, which he is serving in New Jersey while his lawyers appeal the case.
