Diddy paid $100K to bury Cassie assault video, ex-guard testifies at federal trial: ‘He said it would ruin him’

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs tried to cover up a violent assault on singer Cassie Ventura by paying $100,000 for hotel security footage, a former guard told a jury on Tuesday.

Eddy Garcia, 33, who was working as a hotel security officer in Los Angeles in 2016, testified in federal court that Combs begged him to suppress the footage. The video reportedly shows Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in a hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel.

“He was just saying he had a little too much to drink,” Garcia recalled. “He said something like, ‘With women, one thing leads to another. If this got out, it would ruin him.’”

Garcia described Combs as nervous and desperate, saying he referred to him as “Eddy my angel” and promised to “take care” of him, which Garcia believed meant financially. Though he told Combs he didn’t have access to the hotel server, he checked with his boss, who agreed to sell the footage for $50,000.

Combs ultimately paid $100,000 in cash, feeding the money through a counter and placing it in a brown paper bag. Garcia also signed a confidentiality agreement, which included a $1 million penalty for breach. At the time, Garcia was earning $10.50 an hour.

Garcia admitted he didn’t fully read the documents he signed, saying he felt pressured and scared. “The goal was to get out of there as soon as possible,” he said.

The video has now become key evidence in Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial. Prosecutors argue the cover-up reflects a pattern of abuse, threats, and manipulation that has spanned decades.

Diddy has pleaded not guilty to any of the allegations against him.