Sean Combs’s own lawyers say they haven’t seen a dime from him in more than seven months, and they want to hang onto his files until they do.
Sher Tremonte LLP asked a federal judge on October 15 for permission to withdraw from Thalia Graves’ sexual assault lawsuit against the mogul, according to an AllHipHop exclusive.
Partner Michael Tremonte asked the court to let the firm keep Diddy’s case files until the bill gets settled. The filing doesn’t say how much is owed, but it makes clear the gap has been growing for a while.
“More specifically, Mr. Combs has not paid Sher Tremonte anything for over seven months and his last payment related to fees and expenses that were incurred in late 2025.
Accordingly, a substantial portion of the total overdue balance consists of invoices that are over 90 days in arrears,” Tremonte wrote.
The firm says money is only half the problem. Tremonte claimed Diddy has gone quiet on his own legal team, ignoring repeated warnings sent to Fort Dix and to the person holding his power of attorney.
There has been a total breakdown in cooperation and communication between Mr. Combs and the Firm. Mr. Combs has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months,” he wrote.
This isn’t the first time the firm has tried to walk. Sher Tremonte already moved to leave Diddy’s cases involving producer Lil Rod and NewsNation parent company Nexstar.
Diddy’s camp tells a different story. In September, spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told USA TODAY the lawyers had billed him for work he never approved, and framed the split as a business dispute.
Graves sued Diddy and Joseph Sherman in September 2024, alleging the two drugged and raped her at a New York recording studio in 2001 and recorded the assault. Diddy has denied the allegations, and Sherman says he never met her.
Tremonte argued that swapping lawyers wouldn’t slow anything down. The case is currently stayed while two appeals sort out the law behind a dismissal argument.
Legal bills are piling up elsewhere too. On October 6, Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond ordered Diddy to pay NBCUniversal, Peacock and Ample $477,700.50 after tossing his suit over Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, in which he’d sought at least $100 million. The companies had asked for $990,292, and the judge cut that by more than half.
Prison hasn’t been quiet either. An NBC investigation cited former inmates alleging he had liquor and banned electronics, while his team maintains he’s following the rules, and union official Jose Rojas told TMZ his record lists fights on July 31 and September 30.
The Bureau of Prisons told USA TODAY on October 15 that a reported fight with Christopher “Dudus” Coke never happened. Engelmayer said the team had no verified information that anyone attacked Diddy.
Diddy is serving a 50 month sentence for two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, after being acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.
Now the judge in the Graves case has to rule on letting his lawyers go, and on letting them keep his paperwork until they’re paid.
