Inside the walls of Fort Dix federal prison in New Jersey, no one is living quite like inmate #37452-054.
There are men who cook for him and men who clean for him. There are men who make his bed and men who do his laundry. There is even a man who gives him Chinese-style massages.
This is how Sean “Diddy” Combs has been living in prison, according to four men who have spent time in the same unit as the disgraced hip-hop mogul. They were granted anonymity to speak freely about life inside the prison.
“This is not some normal s--- you see in jail. This is some rich s---,” said one of the men. “It looks crazy, but again, it’s Diddy.”
This story is also drawn in part from photos and videos taken inside the prison and reviewed by NBC News. They include footage of Combs appearing to use a contraband phone.
Diddy appears to use cellphone in prison
Combs, 56, is serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related offenses. But he is still living a privileged life, the sources said, and it’s not just because of the inmates willing to perform even the most basic tasks for him for the right price.
Multiple sources said he uses contraband cellphones to scroll Instagram and scan nude and sexually explicit photos that an old girlfriend sends him. He’s been able to buy from other inmates an antidepressant drug sought out for its mood-boosting effects — Remeron, or “rem-roms” as they are known in prison. On weekend nights, he’d often tap into a secret stash of premium liquor, which would be smuggled in by guards and shared with a tight group of fellow inmates.
“Hell yeah, I drank with him,” said one of the men, who recounted drinking Hennessy with Combs.
A spokesperson for Combs downplayed the details of his prison life.
“The continued scrutiny of every mundane detail of Sean Combs’s life in prison has reached the point where the media characterizes ordinary prison life as news,” the spokesperson said. “The only real news is that Sean continues to serve his sentence while awaiting the court’s decision on his appeal.”
A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said the agency does not comment on a particular inmate’s conditions due to “privacy, safety and security reasons.”
“Like all correctional agencies, contraband, particularly cell phones, narcotics, and weapons, remains a constant challenge, and we continue to tackle the problem of contraband being introduced into our facilities,” the spokesperson added in a statement.
Combs’ exalted existence behind bars doesn’t come cheap.
He has spent thousands of dollars a month to bring his lifestyle to the low-security prison, sources said, with the money flowing from people outside prison to the commissary accounts of those inmates performing services for him.
Those paid by Combs include a man who would clean the toilet and shower areas before he’d use them, and men who would secretly cook him special meals — curry chicken, pizza, empanadas — using a makeshift heating element submerged in water, sources said.
“After a while, I got tired of cooking,” said one man who described preparing meals for Combs and other inmates. “He started going to the Jamaicans.”
There are also inmates who hold on to Combs’ phone and fan mail for him.
“It’s so much that he gets,” one of the sources said. “He doesn’t have room for it.”
Like many other state and federal prisons across the U.S., Fort Dix has grappled with a contraband problem. Just last week, five people, including a current and former corrections officer, were charged with running a scheme to smuggle illicit items into the South Jersey prison. The contraband included knives, marijuana and cellphones, federal prosecutors said.
Since 2020, authorities have also charged multiple people for allegedly using drones to drop illicit goods into the Fort Dix prison yard or atop a roof. The suspects have included inmates and outside accomplices who had previously served time at the facility. In one case, Fort Dix staff intercepted a 46-pound laundry bag filled with contraband.
Combs isn’t the first famous person to receive special treatment behind bars. Harvey Weinstein, for one, was held in a private room at the Rikers Island jail in New York, with access to his own phone, bathroom and television, according to The City Reporter.
The massive Fort Dix prison, 60 miles southwest of New York City, houses about 4,000 inmates.
Combs arrived there in October following his conviction on two counts of transporting people across state lines for sexual encounters.
The trial featured lurid testimony about highly choreographed sexual encounters Combs organized called “freak offs.” They involved male sex workers, elaborate costumes, drugs and former girlfriends — including the singer Cassie — who filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging years of physical and sexual abuse. (The case was settled, with Combs denying any wrongdoing.)
His trial ended in a split verdict, with a New York jury finding him not guilty on sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put him in prison for life.
Following his sentencing, Combs’ lawyers pushed for him to be sent to Fort Dix in part because it offers a drug treatment program. Completing the monthslong program often leads to a reduction of an inmate’s prison term, making it highly coveted.
Combs entered the program upon his arrival at Fort Dix. Sources said it took little time for him to acquire a phone, alcohol and a growing number of inmates on his payroll.
“Pretty much the day he arrived, the party started,” one of the sources said.
Many Fort Dix inmates consume alcohol and Remeron, sources said. The medication is prescribed to inmates suffering from depression and anxiety. But it’s also bought and sold on the prison’s robust black market, the sources said.
“You can pretty much get anything except a key to the front door and a female,” one of the sources said.
Among the items Combs has gotten his hands on, two sources said, is a “jailbroken” tablet that he has used to watch movies and documentaries — including “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” the Netflix docuseries produced by his longtime nemesis 50 Cent.
His presence at the prison has also led to some surreal moments, the sources said. In his first few days, he would walk around in only a towel or boxer shorts after a shower, prompting inmates to warn him that he could be targeted for sex.
“That’s not normal,” one of the sources said.
Over the summer Combs was placed in solitary confinement following a fight with another inmate, NBC News reported in July. He was later kicked out of the drug treatment program, sources said.
But after he was moved out of solitary, the sources said, he went right back to living the life great wealth can buy you in prison, with a team of inmates catering to him.
“He’s a billionaire. People are in awe of him,” said one of the sources. “Money is power, especially behind bars.”
