Diddy Hires Lawyer of Prison Bunkmate Sam Bankman-Fried

Hip-hop superstar and alleged sex offender Sean “Diddy” Combs isn’t just reportedly sharing a prison unit with crypto criminal Sam Bankman-Fried—he’s also now using the FTX founder’s lawyer. 

Court filings show that the disgraced musician and producer—who was arrested last month and hit with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges—has hired one of Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, Alexandra Shapiro. 

The documents filed Monday show that Combs is trying to appeal his current imprisonment, after a judge last month denied a $50 million bail proposal and jailed him until his trial starts. 

Shapiro, a partner at Shapiro Arato Bach, recently argued in an appeal that Bankman-Fried should have his 25-year sentence overturned due to being “presumed guilty” 

NBC and The New York Times last month reported that Combs was sharing a prison unit with Bankman-Fried in what the former described as a “barrack-style” space. Combs’ lawyers did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. 

Feds arrested Bad Boy Entertainment founder Combs last month and hit him with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.

The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York alleges that Combs coerced women into participating in “freak-off” sex parties, as well as leading a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice.

Crypto entrepreneur Bankman-Fried—better known as “SBF”—was arrested in 2022 and then hit with fraud charges for criminally mismanaging his massive crypto brand and exchange, FTX. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this year.

Edited by Andrew Hayward