Dawn Richard again accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual harassment

Sean “Diddy” Combs was sued by his former bandmate Dawn Richard, who accused him of sexual harassment and assault when she was a member of a musical trio with the hip-hop mogul.

The multi-faceted lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in New York, includes multiple allegations of assault, false imprisonment, withholding millions of dollars in unpaid royalties and wages, and theft of their copyrighted works. In addition to Combs, his label Bad Boy Entertainment and its president Harve Pierre, Universal Music Group and Epic Records, as well as numerous other individuals are named.

Combs has been in increasing legal trouble since federal agents raided his homes in March as part of a human trafficking investigation. The complaint appears to be at least the eighth filed against him since his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura filed a lawsuit against him detailing years of physical and sexual abuse. That lawsuit was quickly settled but led to other accusers, including Liza Gardner, Joi Dickerson-Neal and Crystal McKinney, filing similar complaints. Combs has denied the allegations, essentially saying the accusers are seeking compensation.

A representative for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the lawsuit, Richard says she was a victim of sexual harassment and assault for years. Between 2009 and 2011, she claims, she was frequently groped by Combs, who constantly made demeaning comments about her body. When she resisted his advances, Combs retaliated by denying her singing opportunities and removing her from songs, the lawsuit says.

In one incident in 2010, Richard claimed she was forcibly locked in his car, which had no door handles inside, for over two hours.

Richard worked with Combs for nearly a decade, first as part of Danity Kane, who appeared in the third season of Combs' The founding of the band. After the band broke up in 2009, she joined Combs' Diddy–Dirty Money. The lawsuit claims she is owed nearly $5 million in unpaid royalties and salaries, as well as outstanding payments for appearances on the MTV reality series. Combs is also accused of copyright infringement for using her work on his latest album.

In addition, the suit accuses Universal Music Group and Interscope of facilitating and profiting from Combs' abuse. In 2009, Bad Boy Entertainment entered into a distribution deal with Interscope that paid Combs' company $50 million for his future releases. At a dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant to discuss the deal, Richard said Interscope CEO Jimmy Iovine saw Combs punch Ventura in the stomach.

“At this point, Interscope Records clearly knew that Combs was dangerous around women and that Combs was willing to brazenly strike a woman in public,” the lawsuit states. “Even after Mr. Iovine watched Mr. Combs commit a violent assault in front of numerous high-profile witnesses, the Bad Boy-Interscope deal remained in place and remained in effect, providing Mr. Combs with enormous financial benefits and allowing him to commit further acts of violence without fear of reprisal.”

The more than decade-old sexual assault lawsuit was brought under New York City's Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act, a law that allows plaintiffs to file civil suits on such allegations after the statute of limitations has expired. The lawsuit includes more than 20 allegations of sex trafficking, false imprisonment, hostile work environment, retaliation and breach of contract, to name a few. Richard's legal team includes Lisa Bloom, a former adviser to Harvey Weinstein.

The filing of the lawsuit follows a court order Monday that Combs pay $100 million to a Michigan inmate who sued him for sexual assault. After Combs failed to appear in court, Lenawee County District Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone entered a default judgment against him.