Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly, Michigan, was charged via a criminal complaint with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods, Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck in Detroit said. Strange, who lost his job at Eminem's studio in 2021, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of both counts.
Strange's attorney, Wade Fink, said in a text to The Associated Press that Strange is a married father of two “with decades of dedication to the music industry.″ He called the charges “untested allegations” that haven't been vetted by a grand jury or a judge.
“We will handle the matter in a courtroom and we have great faith in the judges of our district,” he said.
Studio employees reported the theft to the FBI in January, saying unreleased music that was still in development was being played on various websites, including Reddit and YouTube.
A review showed someone transferred files from a hard drive in a safe to an external hard drive in October 2019 and January 2020, when Strange was a sound engineer at the studio.
Investigators found buyers after Eminem business associate Fred Nassar posted an online warning to fans not to distribute the music.
A Canadian resident who used the screen name Doja Rat told investigators he had purchased 25 unreleased songs from Strange for about $50,000 in Bitcoin. He said he raised the money from a group of fans of Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III.
Strange also was trying to sell some of Eminem's handwritten lyric sheets, Doja Rat said.
Another group of fans organized by someone in Connecticut using the screen name ATL also purchased a “couple” of songs from Strange for about $1,000, according to the affidavit.
An FBI search of Strange's home in January turned up numerous handwritten Eminem lyric sheets and notes; a VHS tape of an unreleased Eminem video; and hard drives with 12,000 audio files. Some of the files contained music in various stages of development by Eminem and unidentified artists working with him, according to the affidavit.
Eminem won for best hip-hop act at the 2024 MTV EMAs and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
The affidavit notes that Strange signed an agreement as part of his severance package that specifically prohibited him from electronically circulating Eminem's work.
“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” Beck said in a news release.