American rapper and music executive Sean Combs, popularly known as Diddy and Puff Daddy, has been moved from a New Jersey prison to a correctional facility in central Pennsylvania, according to a spokesman for the US Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Combs, 56, is now being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, about 90 miles west of Scranton. He had been incarcerated at Fort Dix, New Jersey, since his sentencing last year. He was placed in low-security sections at both facilities.
The Bureau of Prisons spokesman declined to explain why Combs was transferred, citing restrictions on disclosing information about individual inmates.
“For privacy, safety and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any individual in our custody, including reasons for transfer,” the spokesman said.
NBC News was the first outlet to report the transfer.
The development follows a report published by NBC News last month alleging that Combs had access to prohibited items at Fort Dix, including liquor. The report also claimed that he paid fellow inmates to prepare food, make his bed and provide massages.
NBC News included a photograph purportedly showing Combs holding a cellphone. The report cited four unnamed men who the outlet said had spent time in the same prison unit as the entertainer.
However, representatives for Combs said they could not verify the allegations, while the Bureau of Prisons has not officially confirmed the claims contained in the report.
Following the publication, Combs reportedly spent time in the prison’s special housing unit, a restricted area separate from the general inmate population.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Combs, criticised the media attention surrounding the rapper’s time in prison, describing the coverage as excessive.
In an interview, Engelmayer said the news media’s “obsession with every little thing he does is absurd.”
He also confirmed reports that Combs was taken to an emergency room last week before being discharged several hours later. However, the spokesman said he could not establish the reason for the hospital visit.
Commenting separately on the prison transfer, Engelmayer said the legal team was unable to provide details about the circumstances surrounding the move.
“We are not in a position to speak to the circumstances surrounding this transfer,” Mr. Engelmayer said in a separate statement.
“Sean remains focused on moving forward, and we hope that his time at the new facility will be productive and without unnecessary disruption.”
Combs, who built his career as a rapper, producer and music executive, was sentenced last year to more than four years in prison for prostitution-related offences.
The sentence followed an eight-week trial in which he was found guilty of prostitution-related charges but acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
According to the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate directory on Friday, Combs is eligible for release in March 2028.
His lawyers have challenged both his convictions and sentence, arguing that the sexual encounters central to the case were consensual.
The defence maintains that the encounters involved Combs, two of his former girlfriends and several male escorts he hired to have sex with the women, and that all parties participated consensually.
