What is Fort Dix Prison? Why do Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ lawyers want him sent to a federal prison in New Jersey?
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs' attorney, Teny Geragos, has requested his placement at FCI Fort Dix, citing maximised family visitations, access to rehabilitation, education and work programmes as key reasons for the appeal.
Hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has requested to serve his four-year, two-month prison sentence at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison in New Jersey. The request was made in a letter sent on 6 October by his attorney, Teny Geragos, to Judge Arun Subramanian.
The letter highlights Fort Dix's drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes, including the Residential Drug Abuse Programme (RDAP). The letter says the facility would enable “maximised family visitation and rehabilitative efforts,” emphasising that being close to loved ones and having access to educational and work programmes are key reasons for the request.
Geragos wrote, “In order to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts, we request that the Court strongly recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Mr. Combs be placed at FCI Fort Dix.”
What is FCI Fort Dix Prison?
FCI Fort Dix is the largest federal prison in the United States by inmate population. It houses approximately 4,070 male offenders, with an additional 328 inmates at its adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. The facility is known for its substance abuse recovery programmes, vocational training and educational support.
It is situated on a joint military base, approximately 40 miles from Philadelphia, and is classified as a low-security institution with a minimum-security camp. The facility is managed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and is part of the Northeast Regional Office.
For a period, the prison was overseen by the warden who previously managed a Manhattan federal jail where American financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in 2019. That warden, Lamine N’Diaye, has now retired.
Over the years, it has housed several high-profile inmates, including notorious mobsters, drug traffickers, corrupt politicians, and “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, according to AP. While at Fort Dix, Shkreli was placed in solitary confinement after allegations surfaced that he was using a contraband smartphone to manage his drug company from prison. Inmates are prohibited from conducting business and owning cellphones.
A Fort Dix inmate, a former inmate, and two others were arrested for using a drone to smuggle contraband such as cellphones, tobacco, weight-loss supplements, and eyeglasses into the prison in 2019. That same year, a Fort Dix correctional officer pleaded guilty in a separate case to accepting bribes to smuggle contraband.
Since his arrest in September 2024, Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal jail in Brooklyn. His time there will count toward his sentence, so he could be released in about three years.
In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian just before sentencing, Combs described undergoing a “spiritual reset” while in jail and expressed his commitment to “remaining a drug-free, non-violent and peaceful person.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters that Combs, whom he called “Puff Daddy", had requested a pardon from him. However, Trump did not indicate whether he would approve the request.