Sean Combs’ Lawyer Abruptly Quits Sex Trafficking Case

One of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defense attorneys has abruptly requested to withdraw from the Bad Boy music executive’s criminal case, writing that “under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.” 

Anthony Ricco filed the motion on Friday morning, saying he “respectfully but regrettably” requests that Judge Arun Subramanian allow him to remove himself from the case. The two-page motion, obtained by Rolling Stone, did not go into further detail about what led to Ricco making the request. 

Combs retained Ricco last September, shortly after the 55-year-old was arrested and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges, which collectively carry a sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted. Combs’ trial is set for May.  

During court appearances, Ricco often sat by Combs’ side, with the two seen laughing and talking together. While addressing Subramanian, Ricco would also highlight how members of Combs’ family had traveled from across the country to New York to be present for the hearings. (Combs’ team declined to comment on the matter. Rolling Stone has reached out to Ricco for additional comment.)

Despite Ricco’s quitting, he notes that he expects that the criminal case can still continue in a timely manner due to attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos remaining lead counsel on the case. 

Although it’s not clear why Ricco departed, his name was recently left off a recent motion to dismiss the prostitution charge against Combs. The mogul claimed Southern District of New York prosecutors “singled [him] out because he is a powerful Black man” and claimed that “no white person has ever been the target of a remotely similar prosecution.” 

Harlem-born Ricco has earned a prolific reputation for taking on 45 federal death penalty cases, representing more than a dozen clients in New York alone before the state declared the practice unconstitutional in 2004. Although Ricco had not worked with Combs before, he previously represented former Bad Boy artist G. Dep, who confessed to a two decade-old shooting after he learned the victim had died.