June 16 Testimony

By T.L. Reigns

The Scoop Digital Newspaper: July 2025

Prosecutors called Ananya Sankar, a paralegal specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, to serve as a “summary witness” June 16, reading a series of text messages, call logs, flight records, audio clips, and images into the trial record, despite not having direct knowledge of the content.

Sankar explained that she had reviewed “hundreds and hundreds” of pages of evidence compiled into charts to help jurors understand the massive digital record. 

Among the communications were conversations between Combs’ assistant Ryan Lopez and chief of staff Kristina Khorram from December 2019, discussing “cowboys” in hotel lobbies, believed by prosecutors to refer to escorts.

She also read messages from early 2022 that referenced high damage charges at a hotel, replenishing bath towels, and $5,000–$10,000 in cash stored in a safe, news jurors linked to preparation for so‑called “wild king nights” or “freak‑offs.” 

Another set of texts from April 2023 discussed “Molly, 15 pills,” and instructions from Khorram to pay a drug dealer nicknamed “Guido,” with security guard Faheem Muhammad allegedly transferring $5,000 to set up a hotel stay.

During cross‑examination, defense attorney Teny Geragos highlighted texts where Khorram distanced herself from drug dealings. Implying Combs handled those communications directly, seeking to minimize staff involvement.

By presenting Sankar’s testimony, prosecutors aimed to reinforce earlier witness accounts naming Khorram and security guard Damian “D‑Roc” Butler as key players in orchestrating logistics for Combs, even though neither had taken the stand. 

Sankar’s testimony bolsters the prosecution’s claim that Combs depended on a network of employees to coordinate illicit activities under his direction. 

The case now moves forward with summary witness testimony wrapping up, and the prosecution expected to rest its case mid‑week.

Special Agent Penland Presents Financial, Text, and Video Evidence in Combs Trial

Prosecutors called U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland to the stand this week, labeling her a summary witness as she guided the jury through reams of bank records, text logs, travel itineraries, and sensitive videos. 

Her testimony aimed to strengthen the narrative that Sean “Diddy” Combs leveraged his corporate empire to conduct a covert criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering enterprise.

Penland detailed a 2016 incident involving over $46,000 in damage to a suite at Manhattan’s InterContinental Hotel. 

She explained that Combs’ American Express bill totaled $944,059 that month, with payments funneled through multiple Signature Bank accounts tied to companies like Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide.

A pattern prosecutors used to suggest business-financed personal and illicit expenses.

She also traced a 2010 airline ticket purchase for former girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a male escort, using the same corporate account, deemed evidence of business accounts covering private “freak-off” travel.

Video evidence played a central role. The jury watched sealed footage of Combs-hosted sex parties, or “freak-offs” as termed in court, where women allegedly were coerced. The prosecution argues Combs used these videos as leverage, while defense lawyers counter that they show consensual adult behavior. 

These videos, per court order, remain sealed and inaccessible to journalists and the public; media outlets’ requests were denied by Judge Arun Subramanian.

During cross-examination, the defense played longer excerpts, citing messages from Ventura expressing enthusiasm, texts like “I bought the sexiest outfits for later” and “I’ll be the nastiest freak b****”, to argue participation was voluntary.

Penland’s testimony also presented excerpts of protected charts aligning names, hotel stays, and video records, covering 71 “freak-off” meetings as early as 2009. With Combs’s corporate financial records and communications logs.

According to The Washington Post, Penland resumed her testimony on June 17, setting the stage for additional witnesses, including former Combs associate Brendan Paul, before prosecutors expected to rest their case by Friday.

Penland’s testimony remains pivotal. The prosecution hinges on demonstrating that Combs abused his companies’ resources to finance intimate acts with women, and used explicit footage to control and threaten them, asserting this pattern reflects an organized criminal enterprise.

^{Testimonies read from Inner City Press, CNN, washingtonpost.com, and abc.com}

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