Clayton Howard — the former male escort who filed a sex trafficking lawsuit against Cassie and Diddy — now has to build a stronger case after a judge dismissed all claims against Cassie and some against Puff, who maintains his innocence.
In July 2025, Howard, who is representing himself as a law student, filed his $20 million lawsuit. He accused Diddy, born Sean Combs, and Cassie, born Casandra Ventura, of trafficking him across state lines starting in 2009.
Howard alleged the trafficking scheme went on for nearly a decade and saw his alleged assailants flying him from city to city on Diddy’s dime, drugging him, and isolating him in hotel suites. He alleged Cassie coordinated the alleged freak-offs — which he claims left him suffering damages, including psychological injuries.
Judge Dismisses Several Claims Against Diddy And Cassie In Former Male Sex Worker Clayton Howard’s Sex Trafficking Lawsuit
However, most of his claims — which Howard attempted to file under sex trafficking and racketeering (RICO) — aren’t holding up in court. In a July 23 filing, California Judge Anne Hwang ruled Howard’s claims do not have sufficient evidence to move forward in the federal and California human trafficking courts. The judge dropped the core civil allegations against Diddy, his businesses, and Cassie.
This includes: sex trafficking, human trafficking/forced labor, sexual battery, sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, battery related to alleged transmission of an STD (allegedly herpes), and paternity/abortion. The federal trafficking claim against Diddy in California remains, but Howard can refile against Cassie with stronger evidence.
Ultimately, Judge Hwang granted Cassie’s motion to dismiss and dropped all of the claims against her. In Cassie’s MTD filing, she claimed Howard only sued her after learning she sued Diddy in November 2024 and settled for at least $20 million in less than 24 hours.
She also claimed Howard DM’d her husband, Alex Fine, after her lawsuit. He allegedly said, “Your wife’s truth is 100% valid as I’m sure you did as well, I would have come forward and I’m glad she got some form of Justice!” Howard claimed the DM proved nothing.
Now, the judge dismissed some of the claims with prejudice, meaning Howard can revive the dropped claims with sufficient and specific evidence. However, he must refile an amended complaint within 14 days.
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