Former studio engineer charged with stealing, selling Eminem's unreleased music
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A former employee of Marshall Mathers III, better known as Eminem, faces federal charges for allegedly releasing previously unreleased music.
Julie Beck, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, against 46-year-old Joseph Strange, of Holly, on Wednesday.
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A criminal complaint filed on Jan. 16 shows employees from Mathers' music studio in Ferndale reached out to the FBI when they found some of Eminem's unreleased work on the internet.
'The employees obtained an image of a list of the music that Mathers had created but not released and was for sale through various internet sites. The employees recognized this as an image taken directly from a hard drive in the Ferndale studio,' Beck's office said in a statement.
'The FBI was able to identify and locate multiple individuals that purchased the unreleased music. These individuals identified Joseph Strange as the person who was selling the music.'
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According to , more than 25 songs were stolen from password-protected hard drives some time between October 2019 and January 2020. Strange reportedly worked for Mathers from approximately 2007 through 2021.
An attorney representing Strange told the AP that the 'untested allegations' haven't been vetted by a grand jury or a judge.
Strange is charged with one count of copyright infringement and one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. The copyright infringement charge carries a penalty up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The transportation charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
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