Diddy Lawsuit: Messages Reveal Hotel Coordination and Post-Event Concerns, Including Travel Plans
On the 24th day of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial in New York City, a paralegal specialist testified regarding communications that detailed travel arrangements for individuals allegedly involved in so-called “freak-off” events.
During questioning, Ananya Sankar was asked about a December 2019 message exchange involving Kristina Khorram, Combs’ former chief of staff, and Ryan Lopez, a former assistant. In the exchange, Lopez referenced seeing a male escort—referred to as “one of the cowboys”—in a hotel lobby. Khorram responded with several laughing emojis and a message reading, “how long is he going to stay awake?”
The prosecution presented an audio recording in court, reportedly captured on January 30, 2023. Following its playback, paralegal specialist Ananya Sankar read portions of a text message exchange between Kristina Khorram, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former chief of staff, and former assistant Dave Shirley. The messages referenced a planned stay at a Four Seasons hotel. Khorram wrote, “Heads up, he’s about to do wild king tonight,” to which Shirley replied with a comment about retrieving money and needing “to reup on baby oil.”
Additional messages showed Khorram requesting hotel staff to deliver 15 bath towels. Other texts detailed travel plans for “Jane,” a former girlfriend of Combs who testified under a pseudonym. The exchanges included coordination of her flight and the delivery of cash to the hotel.
In a separate conversation involving Combs, Khorram, and “Jane,” a message noted, “Your damage charges on the one hotel are always high.” Further exchanges outlined ongoing travel logistics and additional cash arrangements.
Former staff members have testified about being instructed to prepare hotel rooms with items like candles and baby oil ahead of private gatherings. The prosecution alleges these events involved extended, drug-influenced encounters between Combs, his partner at the time, and male escorts.
A hotel manager also testified in May, stating that Combs’ rooms frequently required significant cleaning. Records from the hotel’s booking system cited issues such as candle wax spills and large quantities of oil.
In court today, jurors reviewed a text message exchange from December 2023, in which “Jane” told Kristina Khorram that Sean “Diddy” Combs had allegedly threatened to release intimate recordings involving her. Jane wrote that Combs said he would “expose [her] and send them to [her] child’s father.”
This is not the first time such allegations have been raised during the trial. Regina Ventura, the mother of Cassie Ventura—identified as one of Combs’ former partners—previously testified that Combs had also threatened to release explicit videos of her daughter.
Ananya Sankar, a paralegal specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, was called to the stand to explain her involvement in the case. She stated that she was asked to review and confirm the accuracy of hundreds of pages of case-related evidence.
Earlier in the morning, Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed Juror Number 6, citing discrepancies regarding the juror’s reported place of residence. The juror was replaced by an alternate—a 57-year-old Westchester County resident, described as married and a parent of two.
