Diddy Trial: Security Guard Claims He Was Paid $100K To Destroy Hotel Assault Footage

The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Tuesday included testimony from a former hotel security guard claiming he was paid $100,000 to destroy footage of the rapper assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in 2016.

The footage went viral after being released by CNN in May 2024, a full year before Combs’ trial began. Eddie Garcia told the jury that he was approached by the rapper’s chief of staff, Kristina Khorrum, with an offer to exchange cash for destroying the video and all copies of it.

Garcia described an alleged phone call he had with Combs during which the rapper said he had “a little too much” to drink preceding the assault, saying “it could ruin him” if the video got out. “You know how it is with women,” Combs reportedly said.

The former security guard said it was promised that he would be taken care of, per The New York Times.

The witness said he turned down the rapper’s request at first, but eventually agreed. “He was excited, said ‘Eddy, my angel, I knew you could help. I knew you could do it,’” Garcia said of Combs.

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Garcia said he and his supervisor handed over the USB drive during a meeting at a high rise apartment building. “I was very nervous and my voice kept cracking,” the security guard said of the meeting. Garcia testified that he signed a non-disclosure agreement asserting that there were “no duplicates, backups, stored drives” containing the video and then was given $100,000 in cash in a paper bag.

The security guard said he was told “not to make any big purchases” because “it would draw attention.”

It’s not clear how the security footage wound up on CNN, as the outlet noted.

Ventura testified earlier during the trial, providing the jury with graphic details of alleged physical, sexual, and psychological abuse during her decade-long relationship with the Bad Boy Records founder. The defense claims that Combs had an unconventional sex life, but is not guilty of the criminal activities he’s been charged with.

Combs pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.