Top 10 celebrities with crime convictions: The world in which fame, power, influence and adoration tend to go hand-in-hand is often a world in which one tends to forget that a celebrity is not any less of a flawed human being than the rest of the world. However, when public personalities overstep the boundaries of law, the process of their retribution is observed not only in the court halls but also under the dim spotlight of mass media.
A recent addition is the name of Sean J. Combs (also known as Diddy), the hip-hop mogul and king of the music industry that, after almost a decade of talk and lawsuits, is finally found guilty in a federal district. Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution as a felony by a jury in July 2025 in a case covered by the Mann Act passed in 1910.
These are offenses of forceful transportation of his ex-girlfriend singer Cassie Ventura and another unnamed lady known as Jane, who both testified in the trial. Combs was found innocent of three other crimes such as racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and two conspiracy count charges. Nevertheless, the guilty verdict is a tectonic downfall of the 55-year-old artist who was once an epitome of glamour, success, and cultural superiority.
The story of Diddy is not an exception. Others A-listers have gotten convicted over the years of crimes – drug possession, assault, manslaughter, and tax evasion. This listicle covers 10 high-profile celebrities who have criminal records by providing details only on those whose outcomes in the law court have been established.
Top ten celebrities who are criminals
Sean Combs aka Diddy
After being a towering figure in world music, criminal convictions shaken the image of Diddy. During 2025, he was convicted in a federal trial on two counts of transporting women, including ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, to work as prostitutes, under the Mann Act. The felony charges are very severe even though he was not found guilty of more serious crimes such as racketeering and sex trafficking.
Fallouts can continue. Lawyer Tony Buzbee asserts that more than 100 men and women accuse Diddy in rape and assault. One of the women said that she received gang rape when she was 17, after being drugged at a party in the future year 2003. The lawsuits have been termed publicity gimmicks by the team that Combs is associated with, the convictions however have given added weight to the claims of increasing allegations.
Sanjay Dutt
This conviction of Sanjay Dutt is one of the most discussed saga of law in Indian cinema. In 1993, after the Mumbai bomb blasts, Dutt was accused by the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) on keeping an AK-56 rifle by unlawful methodology, which was a part of the supply used during the bombings.
Although he was cleared off terrorism charges, his 2006 conviction saw him convict under the Arms Act on illegal possession of firearms. Dutt was convicted of five years imprisonment and after years of filing appeals he served more than four years imprisonment including six months at the Yerwada Central Jail.
Robert Downey Jun.
Probably the most ironic of stories about Hollywood is the case of Robert Downey Jr. who before his turn as Tony Stark was once one of the most terrible pieces of a cautionary example. Addicted in 90s, several times Downey was arrested because of the possession of heroin, cocaine, and not licensed firearms. It was on one occasion when he was reportedly found stumbling into the house of a neighbour drunk and lay unconscious in the bed. In 1999, he was imprisoned three years in jail due to several violations of probation despite serving a nominal one year after released early.
Shiney Ahuja
In 2009, a case against Bollywood star Shiney Ahuja of raping his domestic help was spectacularly reported sending tremors within the film industry. Eventually, the victim revised her testimony, the court still held the earlier version of the testimony true and cancelled Ahuja in 2011 under Section 376 (rape) and others. He was convicted to seven years hence in prison and he remained in jail approximately three years until he is granted bail awaiting an appeal.
Wesley Snipes
In 2008, the career of glorified aerobic flyer Wesley Snipes ran into a wall as he was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of failure to file federal income tax returns. Prosecutors alleged that he had not been paying taxes for years even as he raked in tens of millions. He was not even convicted of the more serious charges of felony tax fraud, however, he spent almost three years in jail.
Mike Tyson
Boxing champion Mike Tyson, in July, 1991 was found guilty of raping a 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant named Desiree Washington, in a case that occurred at a hotel in Indianapolis in the same month. Tyson was found guilty by the jury after they had deliberated approximately 10 hours on the accusation, ignoring his claim that the incident had been consensual.
Tyson received a six-year sentence and was imprisoned and served around three years after which he was paroled on the year 1995. This is a moment of conviction which shocked the sports world and affected Tyson so much that it provided a turning point in his career with his image transformed in a single day. This failure notwithstanding, Tyson subsequently reentered the boxing ring and diversified his profession to embrace entertainment, which included taking up massive roles as an actor in the movie series The Hangover.
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder, the star of Stranger Things, was also arrested in 2001 on shoplifting, taking more than 5,500 dollars worth of goods at a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills. She subsequently was found guilty of grand theft, a felony, and vandalism, proving to have two years of probation and 480 hours of community services as well as on payment of fines. Her career was stained with the incident as she did not appear in major Hollywood roles years later.
Ryder has later returned to the spotlight with a successful comeback, and her 2000s-era crisis is becoming a frequent subject of the discussion of mental health and the pressure on celebrities.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf is an actor and is also remembered by his antics and legal problems. He has a history of being arrested several times during the years on various fines including disorderly conduct, intoxication in a public place and drunk driving. Among the most prominent cases, one can speak about the one that happened in 2017 when LaBeouf was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, as a result of a drunk alcoholic state and disorderly behavior. In this arrest, he was filmed screaming a racially motivated remark to the police personnel. Such and other episodes of arrests due to similar conduct have also earned him instabilities.
Former partners have also filed civil claims against LaBeouf, most notably singer FKA Twigs, who cited LaBeouf with sexual battery and emotional abuse. Although he has never been found criminally guilty of these civil allegations, his legal problems compounded by his offscreen scandals have dominated his career accomplishments and he is widely viewed as a cautionary tale of what goes to waste in Hollywood.
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg was a violent problem child before life in the Hollywood blockbusters made him an actor and a producer. When Wahlberg was 16, he assaulted two Vietnamese men in racially motivated incident, and he was accused of attempted murder. He was found guilty of assault and detained in an 45 days prison term. The case was revived in 2014 when Wahlberg requested a pardon, facing criticism by civil rights groups and creating discussions on compensating offenses and entitlement. Wahlberg has come out to defend his past and apologize, but his bid of being granted a pardon was finally shelved.
Phil Sector
The music genius Phil Spector has been known to become famous due to a much darker reason however; the Wall of Sound. He was found guilty of second degree murder in 2009, over the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot in his mansion.
The trial, his second, after a hung jury, ended in a conviction and a 19-years-to-life prison sentence. Spector died in custody in 2021.
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