NEW YORK (AP) – Rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs won’t face criminal charges for reportedly punching a man after a dispute at a trendy nightspot, prosecutors said Tuesday, because the accuser stopped cooperating with law enforcement.

The accuser also gave different versions of the incident, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said, and prosecutors weren’t able to prove criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The incident occurred Oct. 13 at around 3:30 a.m. inside the Upstairs Bar in SoHo. The 31-year-old accuser told police he and Combs had been arguing over a woman before the rap mogul punched him in the face.

Combs’ attorney Benjamin Brafman called the incident a disagreement between acquaintances who have known each other for 12 years, and he said he was pleased there would be no criminal charges filed.

“Both Mr. Combs and I are pleased that the DA’s office and the police department conducted a very thorough investigation and came to this conclusion,” Brafman said.

He said he did not expect any civil charges and the case was closed.

Earlier in October, a hip-hop promoter filed a $5 million lawsuit claiming Combs unleashed three violent bodyguards on him in another city nightspot. The lawsuit claimed that after the plaintiff spoke to Combs in The Box, one bodyguard punched him in the mouth, knocking him backward onto a table, and two others began hitting and kicking him.

In 2001, a jury cleared the rap mogul of firing a weapon during a 1999 dispute at a Times Square club that wounded three bystanders and of bribing his chauffeur with money and jewelry to take the rap.

Combs, who heads Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group and its record label, recently placed third in the “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” rankings by the Web site Forbes.com, which put his 2006 income at an estimated $28 million.

He also has a clothing line, Sean John, and hosts MTV’s “Making the Band” series.