← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Mob Vibes in Manhattan: Diddy’s Bag of Cash, & Money Trail From Hell | United States vs. Sean Combs Day 15
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Ashley Banfield
Foreign. Hey, everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield, and this is Drop Dead Serious. It is day 15 of the federal trial against Sean Diddy Combs. And today's testimony was like a scene in a mob movie. A hotel security officer says he got a brown paper bag stuffed with a hundred thousand dollars in cash. Not in a back alley, but. But in a high rise apartment with Diddy smiling and offering him tea. His top lieutenants standing by. And then came Diddy's longtime cfo, who laid out the money trail from shell companies to massive wire transfers. And I'm going to get to all of that in just a moment. But first, some of Diddy's old phone calls could come back to haunt him. Prosecutors told the court today they want to introduce calls that Diddy made from jail because they allegedly back up the testimony given by Mia. And yesterday, you'll remember that Mia, a pseudonym for one of Diddy's ex assistants, testified that Combs tormented and sexually assaulted her during her time at his company. It's not clear which part of her testimony the jailhouse calls could back up, but it will be interesting to hear if the judge allows them into evidence. That was not the only Mia related issue that the court had to deal with today. The prosecution also alerted the court that someone on YouTube has apparently revealed Mia's real name, and that is a no, no. They asked the judge to remove the person if spotted in the courtroom gallery. And just when it seemed like that would be the final pretrial item, fireworks erupted in the back row of the courtroom. A woman known around the courthouse as the MTA lady said suddenly jumped up and began screaming at Diddy. She reportedly shouted, quote, they're laughing at you in all the courtrooms. They're destroying your legacy. The courtroom froze. Diddy turned around to watch, and so did nearly everybody else. And it took at least four U.S. marshals to escort that woman out. And then when order in the court was restored, it was finally time for the day's first witness, Eddie Garcia. Garcia was working security at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles on March 5, 2016, the night that Cassie was savagely beaten by Sean Combs in that now infamous hallway video. Garcia took the stand, and he did so under an immunity deal. And you're going to find out why in just a minute. But he told the jury that back on that date in 2016, he was still new to the job just a couple months in, and he was working the swing shift that night. He says that he was monitoring the surveillance cameras when he got a Call from Christina Corum, that's Diddy's chief of staff, who he says then passed the phone right to Diddy himself. Eddie testified that Diddy sounded nervous, that Diddy was talking fast but was being friendly. Garcia said that Diddy told him, quote, you sound like a good guy. You sound like you want to help. Something like this could ruin my career. And then came the ask. Diddy wanted Eddie to bring him the hotel's surveillance footage. Eddie said Garcia testified that he told Diddy no, but that Diddy didn't stop pressing. Diddy and his chief of staff repeatedly called Garcia, he said, eventually offering to, quote, take care of Garcia if he found a way to get the tape. Garcia testified that he thought that meant Diddy would pay big money for the tape. So he said he went to his boss, a boss who agreed to sell the video to Diddy for $50,000. Garcia says when Diddy found out that he was getting the video, he said, quote, he eddie, my angel, I knew you could do it. The next day, Garcia testified he brought a USB drive with the surveillance video to a meeting with Diddy. Christina Cora Matt, chief of staff and a bodyguard of Diddy's. Garcia says that Diddy was calm and smiling and even offered him a cup of tea. When Garcia handed over the usb, he says Diddy had one very important question. And I'll tell you what it is in just a moment. But first, what did drop dead serious stories prove? They prove that the world is unpredictable and that having a really good lawyer matters. And that is where our excellent partner, our sponsor, Morgan and Morgan, comes in. It's a firm with over a thousand attorneys, and that's because they win a lot of cases. Just check the stats. In the past few months alone, Morgan and Morgan secured a $9.3 million verdict in a car crash in Florida and a $5.6 million verdict for another car accident, a victim in Atlanta. Not to mention the $1.8 million for someone in Kentucky after insurance offered them a mere $5,000 for their case. Even if you think your case isn't worth millions, why not start a claim and you can fight for what you deserve. Morgan and Morgan makes it really, really easy for you to do it. You can actually do it on your phone. You can start a claim from your phone, and it only takes like eight clicks. So if you're injured, go ahead, start your claim at www. For the people.com banfield. You can click the link below, or you can scan the QR code on your screen and, hey, share the Love with your friends. It's cool. You can share the code. I'm fine. I'm good. All right, let's go back to Eddie Garcia on the stand, the hotel security guy who says that Diddy offered him big money for the surveillance video of him beating up Cassie. Before Eddie got paid for giving Puff that video, there were some conditions on both sides. Eddie Garcia said that he was worried that he would get in trouble if Cassie ever decided to go to the police. No problem, he said. Diddy told him. He said that Diddy simply called Cassie up on FaceTime and demanded that she, quote, tell him you wanted this, too. End quote. Cassie appeared on the screen freshly beaten and wearing a hoodie. And according to Garcia, she repeated exactly what Diddy told her to say, that she wanted the video, too. And then it came time for Diddy's conditions paperwork. Garcia said he had to sign a non disclosure agreement with a $1 million penalty if he ever spoke about what he saw or. Or what he did. And there was another document to sign, too, a declaration that the USB drive was the only copy of that surveillance video out there. Garcia checked this with his boss and confirmed there were no other copies. And he truly believed that, unfortunately for Diddy, it wasn't true. Little did Garcia and his boss know that another hotel employee named Israel Flores had secretly recorded the explosive hallway footage on his cell phone. Flores is now an LAPD officer, and Flores testified earlier in this case that he took the video because he said his wife would never believe what he had seen that night. But Garcia, his boss, and Diddy, they did not know that. And they did not find out about that until much, much later. After the deal was done, Eddie testified that Diddy gave him a paper bag full of a hundred thousand dollars in cash. That was double the price that Garcia's boss had even asked for. Garcia told the court that he understood it was a bonus. As he was leaving, Diddy asked what he planned to spend the money on and then warned him, according to Garcia, not to make big purchases. And Eddie Garcia said he took that as a warning, a signal to stay quiet and keep a low profile. Garcia says he went ahead and he split the money three ways. 50,000 to his boss man, 20,000 to a fellow security guard, and 30,000 he said he kept for himself. And he bought a used car. But it was not the last time that Garcia would hear from Diddy. A few weeks later, on Easter Sunday, Eddie said that Diddy called him directly and said, quote, you are my angel. God is good. God put you in my life for a reason, end quote. And then Eddie said Diddy asked him if anyone else had asked about the video. He told Diddy no, and that Diddy responded great. Incidentally, wait until you hear what prosecutors say they found on Christina Coram's phone. Diddy's chief of staff. Just hold on to your hat on that one. But first, Eddie told the jury that Diddy said if he ever needed anything, all he had to do was ask. And so he did. Eddie testified that he reached out to Sean Combs about job opportunities in la, but he said Combs never responded. And then it was time for the cross examination by Diddy's lawyer, Brian Steele. He had Garcia read from the non disclosure agreement that he signed during that March 7 meeting in 2016. Steele focused on one particular clause. It said that if Garcia was ever ordered to testify by a court or government or a government agency, he'd have to alert Diddy first, giving him the chance to block that disclosure with a protective order. It was a subtle move. No big reaction, no fireworks. But Diddy's lawyer seemed to be suggesting that this non disclosure agreement was routine business and not some sinister cover up. As soon as Garcia stepped down from the witness stand, prosecutors introduced new digital evidence from Christina Coram's phone and her laptop. And in her contacts. Eddie Garcia was saved as. Are you ready for it, Eddie, my angel? Of course you'll remember. That's the same phrase that Diddy allegedly used when he agreed to buy the hotel surveillance footage of Cassie being beaten up. Next up on the stand was Derek Ferguson, Diddy's longtime chief financial officer. His cfo. Ferguson worked for Sean Combs for nearly two decades, first as the CFO for Bad Boy Entertainment, and later as the chief operating officer, the COO of Diddy's Revolt TV and film. Ferguson made it clear before his testimony that he was only there because he'd been subpoenaed, which basically means he did not want to be there. Derek testified that every company under Diddy's Bad Boy empire had its own bank account and that only a few people had access. He had access. So did Diddy, and so did a few other top executives. The prosecution asked about a company called Janice Combs Music, Inc. And of course, that's the name of Diddy's mom who's been in court every day. Ferguson said it was a company fully owned by Diddy and used to manage his name and image and his likeness. The two signatories on the company were Diddy and Ferguson, Diddy's mom. Didn't even seem to react when her name was mentioned in open court. And then came another question about another account, this one for Combs Enterprises llc. Again, both Diddy and Ferguson had signing authority. Ferguson then walked the jury through. How did he's money moved? He said Diddy and his top staff used American Express cards to cover expenses, and the bills were paid by either check or wire transfer. As for the cash flow, Derek said money came in from performers and artists and it was tracked with receipts. Money went out as per diem or travel cash, and it was handled through petty cash or advances. When asked whether he knew that Diddy's bodyguards carried large amounts of cash, Derek said it wasn't something that he was aware of and not something he paid attention to. Once a year, he said that he'd sit down with Diddy to review his personal budget, going over what was spent the year before and then plan ahead for the next year. Derek also confirmed that Diddy owned high end homes in New York, the Hamptons and Miami. But none of them was in his own name. Instead, they were held under company names, something Ferguson said is common for wealthy people, mainly for privacy and legal protection. And I should tell you that Ferguson is a really, really well educated guy. He went to Harvard and he still like, connects with a lot of other Harvard graduates. So, you know, this isn't some slump on the stand. This guy knows his business, is well educated and is testifying very specifically. Then the jury was shown another exhibit. Bank records tied to a company called 207 Anderson LLC. That company, Derek said, owned a property in Alpine, New Jersey, a property connected to diddy. Another address, 1710 Broadway, that's in New York City, also linked to Diddy. And once again, the document showed both Derek Ferguson and Sean Combs had signed the paperwork, this time back in September of 2009. And then came the money trail. Jurors were shown a summary of transactions from 2011 to 2012 tied to that Alpine property account, the one in New Jersey. In that one year span, $3.4 million flowed in and $3.2 million flowed out. And among the standout transfers, $250,000 was transferred to Diddy's mother, Janice Combs. $800,000 was transferred to Combs Enterprises. $20,000 was transferred to Cassie Ventura, and $20,000 was transferred to Roderick Ventura. And this is where I need to explain that Cassie has a father named Roderick Ventura, but she also has a brother named Roderick Ventura. And that'll matter as we get down in the trial because do you remember that testimony from Cassie that her parents were allegedly extorted by Diddy, That Diddy demanded they send $20,000 to him and that several days later the $20,000 came back? Don't know whether that was supposed to be a power play or what, but there were receipts and now we're seeing $20,000 was wired that year. So to Roderick Ventura, so could have been her dad. There was also $20,000 to Charter Oak Groton. That's a private school in Connecticut. Diddy's lawyers took over on cross after that. And Mark Agnifolo launched a volley of rapid fire questions at Ferguson. Did you ever see anyone help Sean Combs commit crimes? No. Witness acts of violence? No. See anyone strengthen the company through threats or intimidation? Again, no. Did you ever see emotional, physical or sexual abuse? Ferguson said, I did not. Did you see prostitution? No. Then Diddy's lawyer asked Ferguson what it was like working with Diddy. And Ferguson described a demanding but ambitious environment, building businesses from scratch, surrounded by talented people from the defense table. Combs was nodding along approvingly, which I should add here, he often does in court if he likes what's being said on the stand. If he does not like what he is hearing from the stand, he often shakes his head side to side, he writes furiously on post it notes, or he pushes his chair out from defense table. So back to Ferguson, the cfo. He said there was a mission, a sense of family. He said it was a tight knit team working towards something greater. Diddy had a sharp business mind, he said, set aggressive goals and wasn't afraid to chase the number one spot. His relentless work ethic, Derek said, pushed the entire team. Derek also testified he still serves on the board of Capital Prep, Diddy's charter school network for grades 6 through 12 in Harlem and the Bronx. It's a side of Sean Diddy Combs that we haven't seen during this trial. But then came a moment that really fell flat. Diddy's lawyer asked Ferguson the following. Do you think highly of Mr. Combs? And that is when a very, very, very long and uncomfortable pause fell over the courtroom. The witness, Derek Ferguson, stared at Diddy's lawyer, completely silent. The pause lasted maybe 10 full seconds, but it felt like that was a full minute. And finally Derek spoke. He said, I don't know how to answer that. And just like that, the cross examination was over. But I am reminded of the age old lesson that lawyers are taught. They're supposed to learn, they're supposed to remember, and they're supposed to follow. Never ask a question if you don't know the answer. OJ's prosecutors learned that the hard way when they asked OJ to try on that bloody glove. Because that glove didn't fit. Maybe it shrunk, I don't know. But it didn't fit. And Johnnie Cochran may have just won the case with his famous line, if the glove don't fit, you must acquit. Diddy's lawyers likely did not expect Derek Ferguson to have his back against the wall with a simple question. Do you think highly of Mr. Combs? Because that answer felt like a Lead Zeppelin, and I do not mean the band. Before the day wrapped up, the government pulled up one last exhibit. And it was an organizational chart for the chairman's office in Diddy's Bad boy entertainment. And right at the tippy top was Sean Combs. Just beneath him, some very familiar names like Mia, the assistant who's already taken the stand. And of course that is a pseudonym for her. There was Christina Coram, listed as director of the Office of the Chairman. She's also referred to commonly as Diddy's chief of staff. And then there was Paul Offord, head of security. Derek confirmed the chart was accurate, but he made one thing clear. In all his years of working for Diddy, he never once met him at a hotel or at one of his homes. And then came a quick recross from Diddy's lawyer, Mark Ignifolo. Igniffolo tried to make a point, asking if the CFO wouldn't need to visit Diddy at a hotel because after all, quote, he has a personal life. Right? And the judge shut that down. The objection was sustained. After the jury was dismissed for the day, the government gave a sneak peek at what's coming next. And oh boy, this case is nowhere close to slowing down to the phone records phase. They are lining up a series of key witnesses that I, I think could be mind blowing again. Frank Piazza is a video expert brought in to address the issues raised with the Intercontinental Hotel surveillance footage. But then Brianna Bongolan, who says that Diddy once dangled her over a balcony and that testimony should be explosive. But will it line up with sex trafficking or racketeering? Because it sure sounds like abusive or coercive behavior. But I cannot wait to hear the full story because it always matters, right? The circumstances that surround it. And then Enrique Santos will take the stand if there's enough time. As far as Jane Doe is concerned, whose testimony may be the most sensitive yet, prosecutors told the judge they expect Jane to take the stand by the Thursday at the latest. And because her testimony involves explicit video and screenshots, the government asked that the lawyer's monitors be turned off while the material is being presented. Hard copies will be given to Diddy and his legal team instead, but the images won't be shown on courtroom screens to protect her anonymity. And you know, the talk is is that Jane is a pseudonym and that she may very well have some stories that are very similar to Cassie's. I can't wait to find out what Jane's all about. But she has been touted for a long time. So here is where things stand. After day 15, a hotel security officer says he was bribed to hand over surveillance footage with Diddy himself and his chief of staff counting out the money. Bribes that would basically get rid of any evidence of a crime. That's what you call obstruction of justice. And may I remind you, obstruction of justice is one of the predicate acts that's listed under rico. We also learned from one witness that Diddy forced a FaceTime call with Cassie to calm the hotel employees concerns, he said. We also heard from a trusted executive who helped build Diddy's empire, but could not bring himself to say that he still admired the man he once worked for for many years. The case is starting to feel less like a trial and more like a reckoning. But we'll be here for every single minute of it because it is a trial, folks, and it is not looking good right now for Diddy. I'm Ashley Banfield. Thank you so much for watching. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.