The $33 million RICO lawsuit filed against Diddy‘s mother, Janice Smalls Combs, has been dismissed.
A court document obtained by TMZ reveals the federal complaint by plaintiff Deon Best — a former associate of the music mogul — against Janice and her music publishing companies was dismissed without prejudice.
Best, known as “D1”, originally sued Janice in January 2025, alleging she was involved in a scheme to defraud him of his intellectual property rights, royalties, and publishing revenues. He accused her of knowingly using her influence and name to take away his publishing rights and royalties, which he said caused significant financial and emotional harm to him.
He specifically alleged she took control of a song titled “Come with Me” — which is featured on the 1998 “Godzilla” soundtrack. He argued he “controlled, owned, produced and/or created” the track … but Janice got her hands on it through illegal actions.
He accused Janice of fraud, forgery, and hiding records to cover it up, and said he only discovered she “hijacked artist publishing” in late 2023.
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D1 was asking for $33 million in damages, plus attorney fees and anything else a jury deemed fair.
In an earlier complaint, D1 alleged that Diddy also engaged in the conspiracy, but that complaint was dismissed by the court because he did not allege with specificity what Diddy allegedly did to further the conspiracy. He then filed an amended complaint that omitted reference to Diddy.
The recent motion confirms D1 will “take nothing,” and Defendants shall recover their costs of suit.
The court reasons its Sept. 19 decision to dismiss the lawsuit is because D1’s claims were filed after the statute of limitations — 4 years — lapsed.
The judge also found his allegations were too vague to sustain the claim, because they lacked specific facts about how and when fraud happened.
