Diddy gave bag of cash to bury hotel assault tape, ex-guard tells court

Eddy Garcia, a prior hotel security guard, testified in a Manhattan court that after the 2016 attack on Cassie, Sean “Diddy” Combs contacted him and stressed that if the video came out, it would end his career.

“Something along the lines of, ‘This could ruin me,’” Garcia testified, recounting how Combs gave him a brown paper bag with $100,000 to acquire what he thought was the only copy of the surveillance video of the violent event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles.

The Hollywood Reporter states that the video is pivotal to a federal racketeering and sex trafficking case involving Combs, who refutes all accusations. Prosecutors contend that the footage backs claims made by three women, including Cassie, who allege Combs physically and sexually abused them for over twenty years.

Garcia stated that he earned $10.50 per hour when he provided Combs with the video, signed a nondisclosure agreement, and was told not to make any major purchases. He mentioned that Combs subsequently called to see if anyone had asked about the tape, addressing him as “Eddy, my angel.”

Garcia further stated that Combs’ chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, reached out to him first. Upon verifying his ability to acquire the video, Garcia was assured payment. He sold the tape for $100,000 — twice the initial $50,000 he asked for — and took home $30,000. While Combs hinted that Garcia might receive more opportunities later, Garcia mentioned that no such offers materialized.

In 2023, CNN broadcast the identical video. Another hotel employee had covertly captured it on a phone, maintaining proof Combs thought had been deleted. The trial persists as prosecutors strengthen their case claiming a longstanding history of abuse, intimidation, and concealment by the music mogul.