DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. FOSTER:
MS. FOSTER: Good afternoon, Ms. Oken.
SYLVIA OKEN: Hello.
MS. FOSTER: Where do you work?
SYLVIA OKEN: I work at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
MS. FOSTER: What is the Beverly Hills Hotel?
SYLVIA OKEN: A luxury hotel based in Beverly Hills, California.
MS. FOSTER: How long have you worked at that hotel?
SYLVIA OKEN: Approximately 17 years.
MS. FOSTER: What is your current role there?
SYLVIA OKEN: I'm the area director of sales and marketing.
MS. FOSTER: What are some of your responsibilities in that role?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, essentially, the sales, catering, marketing, PR teams all report into myself.
MS. FOSTER: Prior to being area director of sales and marketing, what other positions have you had at the hotel?
SYLVIA OKEN: I was the entertainment sales director, and then after that, I was the sales -- the area director of sales.
MS. FOSTER: Can you briefly explain some of your responsibilities in those roles?
SYLVIA OKEN: Sure. So, as the entertainment sales director, I primarily focused on entertainment clients, any entertainment companies, any entertainment guests who stayed with the hotel or any groups, and then, as area director of sales, all the sales team managers reported to myself.
MS. FOSTER: Through your positions at the Beverly Hills Hotel, are you familiar with the hotel's reservation system?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Could you explain what happens when a hotel guest makes a reservation at the hotel?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. So, regardless of how a reservation is made — whether it is made through our online website or through American Express or travel agent or anyone like that — that reservation comes through to a system called OPERA.
MS. FOSTER: Does that, the hotel's reservation system, have profiles for individual guests?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: And when are those guests' profiles generated?
SYLVIA OKEN: As soon as the reservation is made.
MS. FOSTER: What system are those profiles generated in?
SYLVIA OKEN: In a system called OPERA.
MS. FOSTER: Could you explain what type of information is contained on that guest profile?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. It's essentially the guest's name, first and last name, address, phone number, email, sometimes birthdays if we have it, marketing opportunities, and any kind of profile notes that -- preferences, such as newspapers or allergies, et cetera.
MS. FOSTER: Does the profile also contain information about all prior stays of the guest?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. So, it includes any stay, and then anything that they have spent at the hotel.
MS. FOSTER: Can that profile be updated at all over time?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. It gets updated every single time a guest stays because there is obviously a charge to every time they come. So, the invoices or the folios get updated, as well as if the guest changes their last name because they get married or they change a name or, you know, any kind of allergy updates, anything gets updated.
MS. FOSTER: I believe you mentioned this before, but does each guest profile have a name associated with it?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Is the name on the guest profile always the name of the actual hotel guest?
SYLVIA OKEN: No. At times, particularly for entertainment clients, as well as other guests, they have what we call an alias or an incognito.
MS. FOSTER: When a guest uses an alias, does the hotel have a way of knowing who the actual guest is?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. So, our system, called OPERA, that I just stated, has both names recorded into the system.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, could you please pull up what has been marked as Government Exhibit 7B-149 just for the parties, the witness, and the Court.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, are you familiar with this document on the screen?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. That is a profile of a guest in OPERA.
MS. FOSTER: Are you familiar with the way records are maintained in OPERA?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Is the information contained in Government Exhibit 7B-149 kept and maintained in the regular course of business activities of the hotel?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Is this information recorded at or near the time of the events set forth therein by people with knowledge of those matters?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: The government would now move to admit Government Exhibit 7B-149.
MS. GERAGOS: No objection.
THE COURT: Government Exhibit 7B-149 will be admitted.
(Government's Exhibit 7B-149 received in evidence)
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you please display that for the jury.
MS. FOSTER: You mentioned this is a guest profile. What is the name on this guest profile?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, the name is Phillip Pines.
MS. FOSTER: And at the Beverly Hills Hotel, how many guest profiles are there using the name Phillip Pines?
SYLVIA OKEN: Just one.
MS. FOSTER: Based on your review of this guest profile, can you tell whether Phillip Pines is the real name of the guest staying under the profile?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, it's an alias.
MS. FOSTER: How can you tell that?
SYLVIA OKEN: Because on that name -- on that line, where it has surname and Pines, there's a little globe, and then there's a little "I," and if you click on the "I," it will say the real name.
MS. FOSTER: What is the real name of the guest staying under the name Phillip Pines?
SYLVIA OKEN: Sean Combs.
MS. FOSTER: Is that displayed in the box titled "Incognito Name" on this sheet?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, you can take this down. Thank you.
MS. FOSTER: Can a guest change the alias or name on his or her guest profile?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: How do they do that?
SYLVIA OKEN: They would most likely tell the front desk or myself or a sales representative.
MS. FOSTER: What happens in the hotel's reservation system once they ask for a new name?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, in that scenario, if Mr. -- if they wanted to switch from Phillip Pines, then we would just change that name to whatever they requested.
MS. FOSTER: In the Oracle system --
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes --
MS. FOSTER: -- or the OPERA system?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Now, I'd like to look at some records of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, could you please first pull up Government Exhibit 1304, which is a stipulation between the parties, and please turn to page 7 and zoom in on paragraph 39. This states that Government Exhibit 7B-101 through 7B-148, including the subdivisions thereof are true and accurate records from the Beverly Hills Hotel 9641 West Sunset Boulevard Beverly Hills California 90210. Pursuant to this stipulation, the government now offers 7B-101 under seal and Government Exhibit 7B-101-R.
THE COURT: Those exhibits will be admitted under the terms you stated.
(Government's Exhibit 7B-101 (Sealed) received in evidence)
(Government's Exhibit 7B-101-R received in evidence)
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you please pull up Government Exhibit 7B-101-R.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, have you seen this record before?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: What, generally, does it show?
SYLVIA OKEN: It shows each row is essentially a stay, and it essentially says the guest's name, check-in dates, checkout time, check-in date checkout time, accompanying guests, checkout day, checkout time, and the last room that he has stayed in.
MS. FOSTER: You mentioned that each row shows an individual reservation; is that right?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Does this entire document show a series of different reservations at the hotel?
SYLVIA OKEN: Exactly, yes.
MS. FOSTER: You explained some of the initial rows.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you highlight starting with reservation notes through email.
MS. FOSTER: Can you explain just what these rows show or these columns show, very briefly?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. So the reservation notes is any kind of request that pertained to that particular reservation. So, in that first line, it's mostly about newspapers. And then it's any -- the requests during stay would be like an early check-in or a late checkout, as an example. And then the folio, which every stay has a folio. And then the address of the guest, the phone number of the guest, and the email of the guest.
MS. FOSTER: Pausing you on the one titled "Reservation Notes and Preferences," who inputs that information?
SYLVIA OKEN: It's usually -- it could be the front office or it could be the reservations department.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, could you now highlight the last three columns.
MS. FOSTER: Can you just generally speak about what these columns show?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. The form of payment was essentially how the particular reservation was paid for, and then any vehicles associated with that particular stay.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you highlight "Other Accompanying Guests," that column, again. Yes, thank you.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, what does this column specifically show?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, it's just any guests that -- a name that they want access to that particular reservation. So, this person, any accompanying guest has full access to the reservation to order room service or charge to the room, anything like that. So, they essentially had full access to the room.
MS. FOSTER: Can a guest have more people in their rooms than is reflected under this column?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: And how is that?
SYLVIA OKEN: Because once a guest arrives, we don't technically know who's inside the room, we just know that the room is checked in. And the accompanying guests can -- they're not necessarily always guests who stay at the hotel; they could be somebody that checks in on the guest's behalf. So, we never really know who's inside the room, for obviously reasons, privacy reasons.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, could you please focus on the reservations in white that are at the end of page 1 through the top of page 4 in the name Phillip Pines.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, what do these show?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, this essentially shows various stays. So, you can tell by the check-in date that there are various different stays that happened.
MS. FOSTER: Under what guest profile?
SYLVIA OKEN: Under Mr. Phillip Pines.
MS. FOSTER: Again, is Phillip Pines the actual name of the actual guest for these reservations?
SYLVIA OKEN: It was not.
MS. FOSTER: Who was the guest?
SYLVIA OKEN: Mr. Sean Combs.
MS. FOSTER: How do you know that?
SYLVIA OKEN: Per the OPERA screen that we just showed you previously, again, it says Phillip Pines and then the incognito name as Sean Combs.
MS. FOSTER: Is that also evidence from some of the notes on this spreadsheet, as well?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes, because if you look at the fourth line down, it -- the number 4 states: "Also known by his stage name as Diddy, P. Diddy, as an American rapper, singer, entrepreneur, record producer, actor."
MS. FOSTER: Now, we talked about how someone can change their alias or guest profile name over time. Do you know if, at the time each of these reservations were made, they were made using the alias Phillip Pines?
SYLVIA OKEN: They were not, because his alias had changed over time.
MS. FOSTER: And who is "he"?
SYLVIA OKEN: Oh. Mr. Combs.
MS. FOSTER: And how do you know that?
SYLVIA OKEN: Actually, I had made a couple of reservations in the past under a different alias, called Frank Black.
MS. FOSTER: Reservations for Mr. Combs?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: Why do each of these reservations then show up under the name Phillip Pines?
SYLVIA OKEN: Because Phillip Pines was the last alias he had used prior to the last checkout.
MS. FOSTER: So, then, does that alias then become the name associated with all prior reservations for that profile?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes, it does.
MS. FOSTER: Understood. Now, I want to briefly walk through some examples. Directing your attention to page 3, row 17, just very briefly, what does this show?
SYLVIA OKEN: It shows that Mr. Pines stayed on June 12th -- checked in on June 12th, arrived at 5:55 p.m., departed on June 14th at 1:05 p.m., in room 259. And the request that he had for that particular stay was for newspapers, and then that he had extended — he was initially only supposed to stay for one night but he ended up staying for two nights — and moved from bungalow 10A to room 259.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, now highlight the payment information for this room.
MS. FOSTER: What does it show as the credit card or the method of payment for this room?
SYLVIA OKEN: It shows an American Express ending in 3004 under Mr. Sean Combs.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you now focus on page 3, row 31.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, what does this show?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, again, it shows that the reservation was under Mr. Pines. He arrived on May 30th at 11:59, departed on May 31st at 3:51 p.m., and he stayed in bungalow 23B. And the requests for that stay was, again, particular newspapers.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you highlight the payment column for row 31.
MS. FOSTER: What is the email address before the payment information here?
SYLVIA OKEN: TFletcher@badboyworldwide.com.
MS. FOSTER: And what was the payment method for this reservation?
SYLVIA OKEN: It's an American Express ending in 9004, under Mr. Sean Combs.
MS. FOSTER: Thank you.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, can you now please pull up Government Exhibit 7B-121. Ms. Gavin, is this not in evidence yet? Oh, thank you. The government would move Government Exhibit 7B-121 and 7B-139 into evidence pursuant to that stipulation that I read previously.
THE COURT: All right those exhibits will be admitted.
(Government's Exhibits 7B-121 and 7B-139 received in evidence)
MS. FOSTER: Can you now publish to the jury.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, what does this show?
SYLVIA OKEN: So this is what we call a folio, so it's essentially somebody's bill upon departure. And this particular bill was Mr. Pines' for the June 12th stay where he stayed for two nights, checking out on the 14th, in room 259.
MS. FOSTER: Was this one of the stays we saw on the prior spreadsheet?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes, it was.
MS. FOSTER: At a high level, can you walk through some of the charges on this bill?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes. So, it obviously has the room charges for the day, and then it has the paid out doorman for five candles. So, essentially, we were sent to go out pick up five candles. So, that's what the first couple of charges are. And then the Logo Shop is, essentially, our giftshop, and that's the next charge. And then you have the room charges. There's some internet; some local telephone charges; parking charges, which is described for the car there; private bar; then a miscellaneous charge for cleaning drapes, the cleaning of drapes.
MS. FOSTER: And how much was that miscellaneous charge?
SYLVIA OKEN: $300.
MS. FOSTER: What does "deep cleaning" mean?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, deep cleaning is, essentially, when the scope of cleaning is beyond what is normal. So, sometimes when something is very dirty or stained or whatnot, we have to send it out. So, that's when we would do a deep cleaning.
MS. FOSTER: Turning to page 2 of this document, what is the total bill for this room?
SYLVIA OKEN: $6,774.80.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Gavin, could you please pull up Government Exhibit 7B-139.
MS. FOSTER: Ms. Oken, what does this show?
SYLVIA OKEN: This is another bill from his stay where he stayed one night on May 30, 2015, in room 23B.
MS. FOSTER: Is this a stay that we also saw in that prior spreadsheet?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: At a high level, can you walk through some of the charges on this bill?
SYLVIA OKEN: Sure. The first line is a SONIFI pay-per-view movie, and then the guestroom charge, parking, standard room service, giftshop, telephone and internet, and then private bar again, and then a miscellaneous charge for $500 for oil damage.
MS. FOSTER: What is a miscellaneous charge for oil damage?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, essentially, it was, again, beyond the scope of what we would normally clean. So, we probably had to either send it out or we had to bring somebody in to deep-clean the room.
MS. FOSTER: Thank you, Ms. Gavin. You can take this document down. Thank you.
MS. FOSTER: The name Philip Pines appears on both of these bills?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. FOSTER: When those reservations were made, do you know if they were made in that name?
SYLVIA OKEN: Not necessarily. It could have been any of the previous aliases that he used.
MS. FOSTER: Why is it, then, that Philip Pines shows up on both of these bills?
SYLVIA OKEN: So, it's when you print the bill. So, let's say he stayed five years ago, and if we had printed out the bill five years ago, the name would have been whatever that alias was at that time. But because we printed this after his last stay, in 2021, the name left was Philip Pines, so all folios, or all history, goes under the Phillip Pines.
MS. FOSTER: Thank you, Ms. Oken. No further questions.
SYLVIA OKEN: Thank you.
MS. GERAGOS: Very briefly, your Honor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS. GERAGOS:
MS. GERAGOS: Thank you, Ms. Oken. I just have a few questions for you, and then we can be out of here. You testified you worked at the Beverly Hills Hotel for 17 years, right?
SYLVIA OKEN: Somewhere around there, yes.
MS. GERAGOS: And then I think you said that, particularly with entertainment clients, they book under an alias; is that right?
SYLVIA OKEN: Most of them, yes.
MS. GERAGOS: So, for you, if you've booked a celebrity or an entertainment client under an alias, that's not uncommon for you, because that happens often in your job, right?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes, of course.
MS. GERAGOS: Okay, great. I will just put up, if we could, 7B-101R, page 2, please, which is in evidence. Can we just go to line 14. This is a stay where it lists Mr. Phillips Pines again, correct?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. GERAGOS: And in that third column, I think you said, would have been accompanying guests; is that right?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. GERAGOS: And then the stay for this is what date?
SYLVIA OKEN: January 22nd, 2012.
MS. GERAGOS: And then the checkout date would be January 24th, 2012?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. GERAGOS: And the accompanying guest lists Dominique, Neil, and then Cassie Ventura, correct?
SYLVIA OKEN: Yes.
MS. GERAGOS: Thank you. No further questions. Thank you so much.
THE COURT: Any redirect?
MS. FOSTER: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you very much, Ms. Oken.
SYLVIA OKEN: Thank you.
(Witness excused)
THE COURT: All right. I take it from the government that's a good breaking point for today?
MS. COMEY: I think so, your Honor, yes.
THE COURT: Thank you, members of the jury. We'll be back here at 8:45 to get started at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Do not speak with each other about the case. Don't talk to anyone else about the case. And do not look up anything about the case. And we'll see you back here tomorrow. All rise.
(Continued on next page)
(Jury not present)
THE COURT: Please be seated. Who is the government's next witness?
MS. STEINER: Your Honor, the next witness is Eddy Garcia.
THE COURT: And after Mr. Garcia?
MS. COMEY: We're going to have to do some juggling, your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Do we have a ballpark estimate on Mr. Garcia's direct examination?
MS. STEINER: An hour and a half.
THE COURT: Hour and a half? Okay. Anything further from the government?
MS. COMEY: No, your Honor. We have been in discussions with defense counsel about the rest of the week, and we will update the Court and the defense once we come to a landing on our remaining witness order.
(Pause)
MS. COMEY: Oh, there's one other issue we did want to put on the record. We understand that Defense Exhibit 1750 was published to the overflow rooms and the public screen, without redactions, showing Mia's full face. We just wanted to note for the record that that had happened, and we would ask that the defense make sure that any publicly released version be -- that they confer with the government about redactions before anything containing Mia's likeness is released to the public.
THE COURT: Well, there was a 750R, I believe, and that's why the Court had inquired of the parties, precisely because of that, and so I guess there are a couple of questions. One, was the wrong exhibit used? Or is 1750R not redacted?
MS. COMEY: I don't know the answer, your Honor.
THE COURT: Do we need to do anything in terms of sealing so that the 1750R, to the extent it's not redacted, is not publicly released? Did we figure that out in the time between when I sent the Post-it out to now?
MS. COMEY: So, your Honor, the defense — and, in particular, Ms. Geragos — have been very sensitive to making sure that they check with us before they release to the public -- any members of the public who request copies of defense exhibits, they've been checking with us and conferring about redactions. So, we just ask that we continue to do that.
THE COURT: All right. Anything from the defense before we adjourn?
MR. AGNIFILO: Only it would obviously be very helpful, given our 7:00 o'clock deadline for exhibits the next day, to know all of tomorrow's witnesses. And I understand the government's going to make some shifting, and if they don't know now, I can't make them give me something that they don't know, but we're --
THE COURT: Subject to the shifting, do we have a general assortment of people who it may be?
MS. COMEY: If I can look at my calendar, your Honor. My best guess, your Honor — and this really could change — is that it would be Eddy Garcia, followed by Frank Piazza, followed by either Derek Ferguson or Bryana Bangolan. Those are the witnesses who I think we may call in some version of that order tomorrow.
THE COURT: And then just to account for any further shuffling, who is the next person after that?
MS. COMEY: So, the thing that's up in the air — that the defense does know and I alerted them to this last night — is that the witness testifying under the pseudonym Jane has some travel constraints at the end of next week. So, our plan is to get her on the stand no later than first thing Thursday morning, and possibly as soon as Wednesday afternoon, to make sure that we have plenty of time to complete her direct and plenty of time to complete her cross-examination before she has a flight to catch for an international trip on next Thursday night, after court.
THE COURT: All right, very good. Anything further from either side? No?
MR. AGNIFILO: Nothing from us, Judge. Thank you.
THE COURT: Very good. We'll see everybody here at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.
(Adjourned to June 3, 2025, at 8:30 a.m.)