Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are pushing for the hip-hop mogul to serve his time in one of the country’s largest and most well-known federal prisons, and they want him close to home.
In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, defense attorney Teny Geragos requested that Combs be placed at FCI Fort Dix, a sprawling low-security federal correctional facility in southern New Jersey, Corrections1 reports.
Geragos wrote that the location would allow the music mogul to “address drug abuse issues” and “maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts.”
The letter specifically highlighted Fort Dix’s Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), a nine- to twelve-month treatment course that can cut up to a year off an inmate’s sentence.
The sentence and the setting
Combs, 55, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison after his July conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Having already served just over a year in detention since his 2024 arrest, he is now looking at roughly three more years behind bars.
If approved, the Fort Dix placement would keep Combs less than two hours from New York City, where he was born and is currently being held.
Home to more than 4,100 inmates, FCI Fort Dix is the largest single federal prison in the United States. It includes both a main low-security complex and a smaller minimum-security satellite camp.
The prison, located on the military base Fort Dix, has previously housed several high-profile inmates; including Real Housewives of New Jersey star Joe Giudice, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and infamous “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli.
.jpg_6LXho0?tr=f-WEBP,q-70,cr-0.0.680.1024,rt-0&config=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)
Experts divided on Fort Dix reputation
Despite its proximity and rehabilitation options, experts say Fort Dix isn’t exactly a model facility. Prison consultant and author Christopher Zoukis, who wrote The Federal Prison Handbook, said he typically advises clients against going there.
“Fort Dix is a weird beast,” Zoukis said, via CNN. “It’s had problems with gang violence, contraband drugs and phones, and not enough staff.”
Still, he acknowledged that most low-security facilities like Fort Dix are relatively “laid-back,” featuring dorm-style housing and communal bathrooms rather than traditional cells.
And for those who qualify, the "intensive" 9 to 12 month RDAP program remains one of the most attractive incentives. “If you complete RDAP and get the sentence reduction, it can make a massive difference,” Zoukis said.
A “town of its own” (but still prison)
Former inmate and filmmaker Seth Ferranti, who served time at Fort Dix, once described the facility as “more like a little town of its own.”
In a 2017 essay for Vice, Ferranti wrote that the prison’s open layout and relaxed environment surprised him after years in higher-security facilities, though he was quick to add: “Don’t get it twisted; this is still prison, and at the end of the day, prison sucks, no matter where you’re at.”
The facility has also been at the center of several contraband scandals, including drone smuggling operations and Shkreli’s alleged use of a contraband smartphone to manage his business from behind bars, as per the Wall Street Journal.
Final decision lies with the Bureau of Prisons
Ultimately, the Bureau of Prisons (not the judge) will decide where Combs serves his time.
The agency weighs factors such as security level, available programs, space, and proximity to family before assigning inmates. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said it has “no position” on where Combs should be placed.
For now, the hip-hop mogul’s team is hoping for a placement that offers both structure and leniency; a “laid-back” prison with a path to early release.