Did P Diddy Really Get Busted Behind Bars? Here Are the Facts

Sean Combs just got settled in a New Jersey federal prison, and already the rumor mill is doing laps. The short version: TMZ says guards found him with homemade booze, which is not exactly the follow-up anyone expected after his recent courtroom promises about sobriety. Pile on a new civil lawsuit, a firm release date, and chatter about a possible pardon, and you get a very strange early chapter of his sentence.

The prison hooch report

TMZ reports that officials found Combs with a DIY alcohol mix made from Fanta, sugar, and apples that had been fermenting for about two weeks. In other words, classic prison hooch. The outlet says he was caught drinking, and that there were quick, internal talks about moving him to another unit before that idea was scrapped. The Fanta detail is oddly specific, but that is what the reports say.

About that sobriety arc

This is all landing awkwardly because Combs told a judge not long ago that he had turned a corner, saying he was sober for the first time in about 25 years. In a handwritten note to the court, the 55-year-old described reading, therapy, and getting tools to address past drug use and anger issues. He also told the court he had lost his way in the excess and that selfishness fueled the collapse.

My domestic violence will be a heavy burden that I will have to carry. I make no excuse because I knew better. I was sick on drugs and out of control.

That statement came during a roughly 12-minute address at sentencing, per CBS News.

New lawsuit piles on

Outside the prison walls, the legal problems keep stacking up. According to NewsNation, a Florida man named Jonathan Hay filed a sexual battery suit against Combs, alleging assault and false imprisonment tied to a 2020 music project connected to the Notorious B.I.G. estate. Hay says he went to police at the time but got nowhere because Combs was seen as untouchable, and that the experience left him depressed and suicidal. Those are allegations in a civil case, not findings by a court.

Where he is, what he is serving, what comes next

Combs is serving a 50-month sentence after prostitution-related charges earlier this year, with credit for time in custody since his September 2024 arrest. The Bureau of Prisons lists May 8, 2028 as his expected release date, via The Hill. His lawyers have appealed the conviction and the sentence in federal court in New York.

His legal team asked that he be assigned to FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, a low-security facility with a robust drug treatment program and easier family access. Judge Arun Subramanian went along with that and recommended Combs for the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). Fort Dix has had its share of notable inmates over the years, including Martin Shkreli and R. Kelly.

The pardon chatter

TMZ also says insiders claim Combs has been telling fellow inmates he is banking on a pardon from President Trump and expects to be out next year. That is gossip-level reporting at this point, but it is out there.

• Arrested: September 2024; later sentenced to 50 months on prostitution-related charges
• Facility: FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey; judge recommended RDAP
• Release date: May 8, 2028, per the Bureau of Prisons (via The Hill)
• Appeal: Filed in federal court in New York, challenging both conviction and sentence
• New lawsuit: Sexual battery and false imprisonment claims from Jonathan Hay tied to a 2020 project (per NewsNation)
• Prison hooch report: TMZ says officials found a fermented Fanta-sugar-apple brew and briefly considered moving him units
• Public statements: In court, Combs said he was sober for the first time in decades and accepted responsibility for past domestic violence

So yeah, the early days of this sentence are already messy. Maybe he gets the treatment he says he needs and steadies the ship. Maybe the rumors foreshadow more turbulence. For now, the only sure thing is the calendar: Fort Dix, an appeal in motion, and a 2028 release date on the books.