Claims of a sexual assault and a backlogged rape kit that resulted ina $100 million default judgmentagainstSean "Diddy" Combsare not true, USA TODAY has confirmed. And as the rap mogul's criminal trial unfolds in New York, his lawyers have succeeded in having the civil award thrown out. The civil suit against Combs, who is standing trial on criminal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, was filed by a Michigan prison inmate who alleged Combs sexually assaulted him in 1997. The inmate, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, claimed hisrape kit– like hundreds of thousands of others around the country – had sat untested for years. Cardello-Smith alleged Combs assaulted him in Detroit, whereWayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthywas at the forefront of the national movement to clear the rape kit backlog. He claimed that when his kit was finally tested in 2024, the DNA evidence in it matched Combs. But a spokeswoman for Worthy confirmed exclusively to USA TODAY that Cardello-Smith's allegations were false. "Derek Lee Cardello-Smith did not have a rape kit that was part of the Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Project," Maria Miller told USA TODAY in an email. "We do not know of a SAK (sexual assault kit) being tested in 2024 related to him." A few days after Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Anna Marie Anzalone awarded the $100 million default judgment in a Michigan courtroom in September 2024, she reversed it. Default judgments are entered when someone fails to respond to a lawsuit. But Combs was never served with the suit and didn't know it had been filed until he read about the judgment in the media, according to court records. Shortly thereafter, Combs, 55, retained Michigan law firm Fink Bressack, which argued successfully that the award to Cardello-Smith should be nullified. The suit itself remained pending, however. Combs' attorneys had the suit moved from state court to federal court, and in January 2025, U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy dismissed it with prejudice, meaning it cannot be re-filed. Since then, Cardello-Smith has made numerous attempts to keep the case alive. So far, he has been unsuccessful. Cardello-Smith is serving up to 75 years in prison after being convicted of criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping. He filed the suit against Combs without a lawyer. When the default judgment was handed down, Marc Agnifilo, one of the attorneys representing Combs at his criminal trial, said Combs had never heard of Cardello-Smith. Diddy on trial newsletter:Step inside the courtroom as music mogul faces sex-crimes charges "This man is a convicted felon and sexual predator, who has been sentenced on 14 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping over the last 26 years," Agnifilo wrote in a statement to USA TODAY. "His resumė now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison." Cardello-Smith's suit, originally filed in June 2024, is among dozens of civil lawsuits alleging sexual assaults and other misdeeds by Combs dating back to the 1990s. One of them was filed by his former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura Fine, who can be seen being physically assaulted by Combs on surveillance video from a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Combs' legal team has said the video, first made public by CNN in 2024, had been altered.CNN has denied the allegation. Ventura Fine, better known by her stage name, Cassie, testified for four days during Combs' criminal trial in the Southern District of New York, which began May 5 with jury selection and is expected to last at least through the end of June. Combs' attorneys have said they believe her suit, which Combs settled for $20 million the day after it was filed, prompted the criminal investigation against him. Gina Barton is an investigative reporter at USA TODAY. She can be reached at (262) 757-8640 orgbarton@gannett.com. Follow her on X@writerbartonor on Bluesky@writerbarton.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Exclusive: Michigan man's rape allegation against Diddy was fabricated
