Sean “Diddy” Combs is serving a 50-month federal sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, a stark reversal for one of hip-hop’s most prominent moguls. His scheduled release date of June 4, 2028, now anchors a period defined less by music and more by overlapping criminal, civil, and media battles.
A split federal verdict in New York on prostitution-related charges has triggered a nationwide wave of lawsuits, a high-stakes appeal, and intense scrutiny of a Netflix docuseries that has pushed his legal drama onto a global stage.
Appeal Challenges Split Verdict
On December 23, 2025, Combs’ legal team filed an 84-page appeal challenging his July 2, 2025 conviction on two federal counts related to transportation for prostitution. Attorney Alexandra Shapiro signed the filing, signaling continuity at the top of his defense operation.
The appeal targets the New York federal verdict that both convicted and acquitted him: jurors found Combs guilty on two counts and cleared him on three others, including sex trafficking and racketeering.
Combs has been incarcerated since his October 3, 2025, sentencing by federal Judge Arun Subramanian. His 50-month term is being served at the low-security FCI Fort Dix facility. The Federal Bureau of Prisons changed his projected release date from May 8 to June 4, 2028, though no official reason for the change was provided. Reports surfaced about alleged prison rule violations in November, including unauthorized phone calls, but these have not been officially confirmed as the cause of the date adjustment.
Expanding Legal Exposure
The criminal case has been followed by a surge of civil litigation. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in courts across the United States, many drawing momentum from Combs’ federal conviction. Multiple accusers await their day in court, and each new filing deepens the financial and reputational stakes.
In November 2025, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department opened a sexual battery investigation involving Combs, adding another layer of risk and widening the geographic reach of his legal exposure.
That probe introduces complex overlaps between federal sentencing in New York and potential state-level action in California. Together, the appeal, the civil cases, and the LA investigation place Combs at the center of a sprawling legal dispute that spans multiple jurisdictions.
Netflix Documentary Fuels Controversy
While the courts move forward, a parallel battle is unfolding in the entertainment industry. On December 2, 2025, Netflix premiered “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” a four-part docuseries examining his career and the allegations against him. The series, executive-produced by longtime rival Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, swiftly attracted a large international audience, amplifying long-standing tensions within hip-hop.
Central to Combs’ anger over the series is footage from the hotel, showing him confronting his own defense lawyers. The video surfaced just before the docuseries’ launch and was used in the production. Combs’ camp described the material as “stolen” and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix on December 1, 2025, the day before its release.
A spokesperson said on December 29, 2025, that Combs and his team were “still pondering” their legal options, leaving open the possibility of a lawsuit against the streaming platform.
The Footage Leak Explained
Documentarian Michael Oberlies later stated publicly on December 10, 2025, that a third party released the footage without authorization while he was out of state. He said, “A third party covering for me while I was out of state released the footage,” portraying the leak as an unauthorized act by an associate rather than a decision by Netflix.
That admission complicates any future case against the company, potentially narrowing the grounds on which Combs could seek damages while still highlighting the dispute over how the material entered the public domain.
As the clock runs toward June 4, 2028, each decision carries long-term consequences for Combs’ personal future, the fate of the Bad Boy legacy, and how the entertainment business navigates allegations against influential figures.