Diddy Files Appeal After Mann Act Conviction and Four-Year Sentence

Sean “Diddy” Combs has moved to challenge his federal conviction on prostitution-related offenses, filing a notice of appeal days after receiving a four-year prison term.

On Oct. 20, attorney Alexandra Shapiro submitted the appeal in U.S. District Court in New York, according to ABC News. Combs’ legal team argues the jury’s finding on transportation for prostitution under the Mann Act was misapplied and should be overturned.

A jury in July found Diddy guilty on two Mann Act counts after an eight-week trial. He was acquitted of sex-trafficking and racketeering charges. In September, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced the Bad Boy Records founder to 50 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release with conditions that include abstaining from drug use and completing a domestic-violence program.

The court also imposed a $500,000 fine and credited roughly one year Diddy has already spent at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as time served.

In explaining the sentence, Judge Subramanian said a substantial term was necessary to underscore that the abuse of women “is met with real accountability.” Prosecutors had asked for more than 11 years, while Combs sought a 14-month term that, with credit for time served, could have led to his release soon after sentencing.

Ahead of the hearing, Combs expressed remorse. “My actions were disgusting, shameful, and sick,” he said in court, later adding in a letter to the judge that he is “no longer running” from his mistakes and apologized to two women who testified.

Despite those statements, the court imposed the four-year sentence. Combs’ lawyers signaled immediately that they would appeal; the filing now formally sets that challenge in motion.