A Lenawee County judge ordered Sean Combs to pay a Michigan inmate $100 million in a default judgment on Monday.
Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith was sentenced to 75 years in prison for multiple sexual offenses. He is currently incarcerated in the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility.
In a lawsuit filed in June, Cardello-Smith, 51, accused Combs, 54, of drugging and sexually assaulting him when he worked at a restaurant during a party in Detroit in 1997.
In court documents, Cardello-Smith said Combs touched his buttocks then offered him a drink laced with a date rape drug.
The Plaintiff alleged that when he woke up he saw Combs having sex with a woman. Combs allegedly told him “I did this to you too.”
Combs did not file a response to the lawsuit, resulting in a default judgment against him by Judge Anna Marie Anzalone. Combs was not present during the virtual default hearing on Monday.
Judge Anzalone ordered Combs to pay $10 million a month for 10 months to Cardello-Smith beginning on Oct. 1st. The money will be kept in an escrow account by the accuser’s attorney until he is released from prison.
Combs’ attorney slammed Cardello-Smith for “committing a fraud on the court.” Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo said Combs has never heard of the inmate and he was never served with a summons.
An insider tells Variety that a summons was sent to an out-of-date address and that Combs never received the summons.
Combs’ attorney will ask the judge to vacate (dismiss) the default judgment since Combs was not aware of the lawsuit.
“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 said of Cardello-Smith.
He continued: “His resume now includes committing a fraud on the court from prison, as Mr. Combs has never heard of him let alone been served with any lawsuit. Mr. Combs looks forward to having this judgment swiftly dismissed.”
According to The Metro Times, Cardello-Smith produced visitor logs that show Combs visited him in prison in Michigan.
Cardello-Smith claims Combs offered him $2.3 million to dismiss the lawsuit.
