Diddy caught drinking in prison: Did rap mogul lie to judge, what rules say about punishment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the disgraced rap mogul, was reportedly caught drinking behind bars by prison officials.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs reportedly got into trouble with prison officials for drinking alcohol behind bars. Diddy, whose birthday was on November 4, got caught this week, leading to some trouble, TMZ reported.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs was convicted on two counts of violating the Mann Act back in July.(AFP)

Diddy reportedly had some homemade alcohol in Fort Dix, the low-security prison where he's serving time. As per TMZ, the alcohol was made of Fanta, sugar and apples. Inmates reportedly ferment this concoction for two weeks to turn it into an alcoholic substance.

Did Sean Combs lie to judge?

Sean Combs reportedly had spoken about his sobriety to the judge before his sentencing in October. Diddy had told the court that he was sober 25 years and had lost his way due to substances.

“The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn. Prison will change you or kill you -- I choose to live,” he had written in the letter to the judge. While Diddy claimed to have been sober for 25 years, he is no longer so, after prison officials caught him drinking when in jail.

What do rules say about punishment for drinking in jail?

Diddy was caught drinking in federal prison, which can bring its own set of consequences. As per the Federal Bureau of Prisons, ‘introduction or making of any narcotics, marijuana, drugs, alcohol, intoxicants, or related paraphernalia, not prescribed for the individual by the medical staff’ falls under the Greatest severity level of prohibited acts.

Available sanctions for this include - recommending parole date rescission or retardation, forfeiture and/or withholding earned statutory good time or non-vested good conduct time (up to 100%) and/or terminating or disallowing extra good time (an extra good time or good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).

It can also lead to disallowing ordinarily between 50% and 75% (27-41 days) of good conduct time credit available for year (a good conduct time sanction may not be suspended), forfeiture up to 41 days of earned First Step Act (FSA) Time Credits (see 28 CFR part 523, subpart E) for each prohibited act committed, and disciplinary segregation (up to 12 months). A prisoner can also be asked to make monetary restitution, monetary fine, and might face loss of privileges (e.g., visiting, telephone, commissary, movies, recreation).

They might also see a change in housing (quarters), removal from program and/or group activity, loss of job, impounded personal property, confiscated contraband, be restricted to quarters, and get extra duty, as per Cornell Law School.

In Diddy's case, jail officials were reportedly planning to move him into a new unit from his old one, but TMZ reported citing sources that the officials had now gone back on their decision, meaning Diddy will remain where he is.

Diddy was convicted on two counts of violating the Mann Act back in July. He got a 50-month sentence in October and was transferred to Fort Dix last week.