Cassie’s Mom Alleges She Paid Diddy $20,000 to Protect Her Daughter

For weekly updates on all the most pivotal and dramatic moments from Diddy’s trial, sign up for our newsletter: Court Appearances: United States v. Diddy, and check out the rest of our trial coverage here.

Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s mother paid Sean “Diddy” Combs $20,000 out of fear for “my daughter’s safety,” she said on Tuesday at the disgraced rapper’s Manhattan federal-court sex-trafficking trial. Regina Ventura, who wore a shawl over a white high-necked sweater on the stand, said that Diddy strong-armed the family in late 2011. Regina said that Cassie sent her and Capricorn Clark, once an assistant of Diddy’s, a panicked email outlining alleged threats in December of that year. “The threats that have been made towards me by Sean “Puffy” Combs are that … he is going to release 2 explicit sex tapes of me,” Cassie said in an email. “One on Christmas Day, maybe before or right after and another one some time soon after that. He has also said that he will be having someone hurt me and [Kid Cudi] physically. He made a point that it wouldn’t be by his hand, he actually said he’d be out of the country when it happened.”

“I was physically sick,” Regina said. “I did not understand a lot of it. The sex tapes threw me.” Regina said she didn’t know a lot about the situation but knew that Diddy was trying to hurt her daughter. She understood that Diddy wanted to be repaid $20,000, which he had spent on Cassie, “because he was angry that she had a relationship with [Kid Cudi.]” Regina said that she and her husband took out a home-equity loan because it was “the only way we could get the money” and ultimately transferred it to Diddy’s account. Regina was asked why they needed to pay Diddy $20,000. “Because he demanded it,” she said, referring to Diddy. She also recounted taking photos of Cassie with bruises on her side and hip during a visit that month. Why did she take the photos? “She was bruised and I wanted to make sure we memorialized it.” Did Cassie say anything about what happened? “That she was beaten by Sean Combs,” Regina said matter-of-factly. Her testimony was brief, maybe 15 minutes. When it was time for cross-examination, Diddy defense attorney Marc Agnifilo stood and said, “Good afternoon, Ms. Ventura. I don’t have any questions for you,” and thanked her. (Before proceedings kicked off today, as both sides were arguing over which testimony should come in, prosecutors said in court that Cassie’s parents got the money back.)

After Regina’s succinct testimony concluded, Sharay Hayes — a male stripper who goes by the nickname Punisher — took the stand. He said that he was hired in 2012 to create a “sexy scene” for the couple. The first time he met with Cassie and Diddy, Hayes said, he didn’t have sex with her. They applied baby oil to one another. Diddy was speaking to Cassie, giving directions such as “move the light to the side, maybe position her body in a certain way.” At some point, Hayes said, “Diddy stood up and left the room. Ms. Ventura followed him out and then she returned and she asked me if I wanted to finish. I interpreted that as having an orgasm,” he recalled. “At that point, I was trying to be as professional as possible. I was there to create what I called a ‘sexy scene,’ so I declined.” Ventura thanked him and he left. He claimed he was paid $2,000 for this encounter. From then until 2015, Hayes said he saw the couple around eight to 12 more times and that Hayes and Cassie engaged in sexual activity, and he was paid. Diddy was present.

Hayes said he wasn’t always ready to have sex with Cassie. “At times, I experienced some anxiety … there were times that I would struggle with gaining and maintaining an erection.” The situation was novel for him. “Personally, a sexual scenario with a woman’s partner present, actively giving directions, was not normal for me, so it did create some discomfort.” He would try Cialis and Viagra, and similar treatments, to be able to perform. He recalled being jarred after Diddy threw condoms onto the couch in a “kind of aggressive” manner. Diddy said “I’m ready to see you fuck her,” Hayes said. As for Cassie, “She reacted kind of startled,” he said. After seeing this, “I struggled,” Hayes added.

David James, Diddy’s personal assistant from 2007 to 2009 testified first on Tuesday. He told jurors how he readily met the rapper’s many demands — making sure Just for Men hair dye and 40 skin products were set up in hotel rooms, for example, and that he was never without Heinz 57 ketchup when abroad. James said that he was also tasked with more delicate matters, such as buying Astroglide and condoms with cash, and picking up his Percocet prescriptions. Diddy would sometimes dispatch James to bring him things at hotels. Once, Diddy asked James to bring his iPod to the hotel. James had a key because he was tasked with setting up Diddy’s hotel rooms prior to his stays. He saw Cassie on the bed. “There was a gentleman I did not recognize,” James recalled. “He was completely naked, about five feet eight, long hair, and he had a very large endowment.” The man “scurried off” when James walked in. Someone was in the shower in the room. James did not ask Diddy about any of this. “I just didn’t really think it was my business,” he said. “I thought they were doing some personal things.” James also described several instances of allegedly intimidating behavior.

On two occasions, Diddy’s team hooked James up to lie-detector tests when things went missing. Another time, Diddy menaced James after James took ecstasy at a party and let loose: “He was reviewing footage from the party.” At first, Diddy called him a “playboy” and said he saw him dancing around the party. Then Diddy asked if he was on ecstasy. James answered in the affirmative. “He said, ‘Okay, I’m going to keep this footage in case I ever need it.’”

Diddy, wearing a denimlike blue sweater, watched as James delivered his testimony. He could be seen whispering with his legal team. While there were points in James’s testimony that prompted chuckles in court, such as his recollection about accidentally bringing prostitutes to Diddy’s home, the exchange felt as though it was dragging at points. One trial observer was admonished by a marshal for falling asleep in court. And one of Diddy’s supporters appeared to be dozing off. On Monday, he provided testimony about Cassie and Diddy’s relationship. He described meeting Cassie for the first time in Miami, when she came to visit Diddy. “He rented out a yacht to take her out on the boat. We went out to the club; we went out to dinner. They partied all weekend.” James said on Monday that Diddy told him he “was really trying to impress her.” James also said there was a business component to Diddy and Cassie’s relationship; she was on the rapper’s label. Prosecutors have alleged that Diddy coerced Cassie into participating in “Freak Offs” — sexual encounters with male escorts — by wielding financial and professional control over her.

James previously said that he, Cassie, and her then-best friend Kerry Morgan were on a dock at Diddy’s Miami home, smoking cigarettes, when she mentioned the career aspects of their relationship. “Cassie said to me, she said, ‘Man, this lifestyle is crazy.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, this lifestyle is crazy.’ You know, I was thinking about how many hours we work, how much we travel,” James recalled. “I said, ‘Cassie, if it’s so crazy, why don’t you just leave and get out?’ She was like, ‘I can’t, I can’t get out, you know. Mr. Combs oversees so much of my life. He’s— he controls my music career, he pays for my apartment, he gives me an allowance,’ essentially a salary. I just didn’t think that she could easily leave.”

James also recalled hearing a conversation between Diddy and a business associate. This associate asked Diddy about Kim Porter, the mother of his children, and asked how’s Cassie? “Mr. Combs said, you know, ‘Kim is doing good. She’s out in L.A. She’s taking care of the family. That’s my queen.’ And then he said, you know, ‘Cassie is good. I got her right where I want her. She’s young.’”