Diddy has been slapped with a potentially historic $100 million judgment after facing a sexual assault lawsuit from a Michigan inmate.
On Monday (September 9), Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone awarded the judgment to Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, per the Detroit Metro Times. The outlet notes that Cardello-Smith has a long history of filing civil lawsuits.
Cardello-Smith reportedly accused Diddy of drugging and sexually assaulting him at a Detroit party in 1997. He told the publication that he goes “way back” with Diddy and met him while working in the Detroit hospitality industry.
Cardello-Smith further alleged that Diddy visited him in prison and offered him $2.3 million to drop the case. However, Cardello-Smith claims he rejected the offer and provided records showing Diddy’s name in the visitation record.
In an August hearing, Judge Anzalone issued an order preventing Diddy from selling assets that could be used to pay for any potential damages resulting from Cardello-Smith’s lawsuit.
At the virtual hearing in August, Cardello-Smith filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and or a preliminary injunction to stop Diddy from selling his Los Angeles mansion and other properties.
Diddy Allegedly Visited Cardello-Smith In Prison
Cardello-Smith claimed he had a “live one-on-one” visit with Diddy and another meeting with the embattled mogul’s financial adviser at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights.
“[Diddy] stated that he would make me an offer to end the case and what happened to me because of other things that he stated he has going on in his life that require his money right now,” Cardello-Smith told the judge. He continued stating that Diddy said “he wants to sell everything off,” before offering him $2.3 million “to allow what happened to me to go away.”
Cardello-Smith said Diddy told him he would be selling his property. “He did it the day after I served him the suit,” he added, presumably referring to reports Diddy put his L.A. property on the market for $70 million.
Additionally, Cardello-Smith alleged Diddy told him he wouldn’t file a response to the lawsuit and would have “a better chance” dealing with a default judgment.
“I said, ‘So you want to hide your money,” and stop him from receiving a possible financial judgment. “He pretty much said, ‘Yeah. You know how we get down.’”
Judge Anzalone issued the preliminary injunction temporarily prohibiting Diddy from selling the property and listed a hearing for September 9.
However, as Diddy failed to appear, Judge Anzalone awarded the $100 million default judgment in Cardello-Smith’s favor. According to Metro Times, the sum is possibly the largest awarded to a non-attorney and a currently incarcerated inmate in history.
Diddy’s attorney issued a statement concerning the case, casting doubt on Cardello-Smith’s credibility.
“This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years,” Marc Agnifilo tells AllHipHop. “His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”