A former sound engineer for Eminem was charged Wednesday with stealing, leaking, and selling the rapper’s unreleased music for about $50,000 in Bitcoin (BTC).
The US authorities have charged Joseph Strange (46) of Michigan, USA, with criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods, according to a press release by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The charge was announced by the Acting United States Attorney Julie Beck and Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Detroit Field Office in Michigan, Cheyvoryea Gibson.
If convicted, Strange faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to the New York Times, which claims to have seen the court records, Strange sold about 25 songs that Eminem wrote between 1999 and 2018 for $50,000 in BTC.
Furthermore, per DOJ, the FBI was able to identify and locate several individuals who bought the unreleased music. Importantly, these people identified Strange as the seller.
A couple of fans told the FBI they bought songs directly from Strange. One said he had paid about $1,000 for two songs, presumably in BTC. These people were reportedly not charged.
‘We Will Find You’
Strange worked for Eminem between 2007 and 2021. He was one of only four employees with access to this studio’s password-protected hard drives of Eminem music.
Employees of the rapper’s studio in Michigan contacted the FBI in mid-January 2025. They found unreleased music – still in the development process – online and for sale on various sites.
People also played this music on sites including YouTube and Reddit, court records show.
In a now-deleted post, Fredwreck, a longtime producer and associate of Eminem and Dr. Dre, threatened the leaker that they would find him and punish him according to “street law.” However, a tipster contacted Fredwreck, opening the door to solving the case.
Fredwreck, TwitterPer the records, the tipster was an Eminem fan who used the screen name Doja Rat. The 31-year-old man from Canada told the FBI that he was the buyer and had made the purchases beginning in the summer of 2024.
Doja Rat raised the $50,000 from a group of Eminem fans.
Furthermore, in a search of Strange’s home, the FBI reportedly found thousands of music files, a number of Eminem’s handwritten lyric sheets in a safe, and a VHS tape of an unreleased music video.
Presumably, Strange intended to make more sales in exchange for BTC.
In a statement to The Detroit Free Press, the rapper’s representative described the leak as “significant damage caused by a trusted employee to Eminem’s artistic legacy and creative integrity.” The incident caused “enormous financial losses” to many creators and collaborators.
Furthermore, these songs were “experiments.” They were “studio efforts never meant for public consumption,” a representative said when the songs leaked in January.
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