The former sound engineer for U.S. singer and rapper Eminem has been charged with leaking and selling the artist’s unreleased songs for $50,000 in bitcoin ( BTC). Joseph Strange, 46, who worked in Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, Michigan, violated a severance agreement that specifically barred him from circulating the rapper’s songs.

According to a report by The New York Times citing prosecutors, Strange allegedly sold 25 songs written by Eminem between 1999 and 2018. The former engineer, who lost his job in 2021 after working in the studio for four years, neither had Eminem’s consent nor that of Interscope Records, the rightful owners of the songs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan has since charged Strange with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods.

As per the report, U.S. authorities learned of the songs’ leak from current employees at Eminem’s studio who encountered the music being played on Youtube and Reddit. An affidavit from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stated that stolen music had previously been stored on hard drives at the studio.

“They [employees] were able to identify the music as having been stored on hard drives in the studio in Ferndale. These hard drives are not connected to the internet for security reasons,” the FBI affidavit said.

After Eminem became aware of the leak, one of his employees reportedly issued a warning via social media against sharing the music. This warning prompted an unidentified tipster to expose a Canadian national who confessed to having bought 25 songs from Strange sometime in 2024. The Canadian claimed that the BTC used to acquire the music had been raised from a group of Eminem fans.

The FBI investigation ultimately led to a raid on Strange’s home in January. During the raid, FBI agents reportedly recovered Eminem’s original handwritten lyric sheets among other items. Meanwhile, speaking through his lawyer, Strange, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on one of the charges, said he “will seek justice and fairness in the courtroom.”

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