What did Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith accuse Diddy of? Rapper loses $100M judgment in civil lawsuit

Michigan inmate Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith had accused Diddy of drugging and s*xually assaulting him at a party in Detroit in 1997. On Monday, September 9, Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone issued the $100 million judgment against Sean "Diddy" Combs. The judgment came out after the mogul failed to appear for a virtual hearing of the case.

Derrick has been serving a sentence at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights due to an unrelated offense. The Detroit Metro Times reported that Derrick had a lengthy record of filing civil lawsuits. Derrick further revealed that he had met Combs back in the time while working in the hospitality industry.

The complainant claimed that Combs had visited him in prison and offered a hefty sum of $2.3 million to withdraw the case, which he eventually declined. Derrick is one of the recent complainants to accuse Combs in a s*xual assault lawsuit. He further told Judge Anzalone that Diddy reportedly had a discussion with him regarding the suit.

According to him, when asked about an out-of-court settlement, Combs responded by stating:

"You know how we get down."

To this, the complainant allegedly replied saying:

"I disagree with how you get down."

The Detroit Metro Times further mentioned that the virtual hearing garnered a huge number of views on social media.

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Diddy was disallowed to sell his assets that could potentially pay for the damages mentioned in the suit

As mentioned, the music mogul lost the $100 million judgment in the case involving Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith. In a hearing that took place in August 2024, Judge Anzalone restricted the mogul from selling his assets using which he could pay for the potential damages resulting from the lawsuit.

Derrick had presented records showing Combs' name in the visitation history, to corroborate his claims about the mogul offering him hush money. He further told the judge:

"Diddy stated that he would make me an offer to end the case and what happened to me because of other things that he stated he has going on in his life that require his money right now."

According to Derrick, Combs allegedly told him that he could sell his property for about $70,000,000. During the trial, Derrick revealed that the mogul made this offer a day after he filed the suit against him. The Detroit Metro Times further reported that the sum of $100,000,000 would possibly be the biggest amount given to a non-attorney and an incarcerated inmate in history.

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This judgment came a few months after the mogul was named in a $666,000 suit filed by an imprisoned cartel member in connection to a drug business, as reported by several outlets including KDVR. The complainant was reportedly a self-proclaimed member of the Sinaloa drug cartel, who was incarcerated in Colorado.

In the suit filed in May, the complainant, identified as Alfredo P Gonzalez, accused Combs of causing destruction in his drug business. The case was, however, dismissed by Chief US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on August 12.