Trump DOJ Secures Guilty Plea From Ex-Eminem Employee
Former Eminem employee pleads guilty to stealing unreleased music, faces up to five years in prison.
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President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has secured a guilty plea from a former employee of rapper Eminem, who stole and sold unreleased music for approximately $50,000, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Ex-Eminem Employee Pleads Guilty to Music Theft
Joseph Strange, 48, faces up to five years in prison for copying and distributing unreleased music from Eminem, whose legal name is Marshall Mathers. According to a Justice Department release, Strange worked for Mathers from approximately 2007 to 2021 at a studio in Ferndale, Michigan. He helped establish and operate a computer system used to store music Mathers was developing for potential future release.
Strange had access to password-protected hard drives containing unreleased material. Prosecutors said he copied at least 10 audio files without authorization and then sold them to internet buyers between July and August 2024 for approximately $50,000. The stolen recordings eventually appeared online and became available through public streaming platforms without Mathers’ knowledge or permission. Although the songs were not guaranteed to be released, many had undergone studio mastering in preparation for a potential release.
Prosecutors Estimate Infringement at Over $750,000
By November 2025, the infringing files identified by the government had been accessed more than eight million times across streaming services. Prosecutors estimate the infringement amount at no less than $750,000. “Joseph Strange abused a position of trust to unlawfully copy and sell unreleased music belonging to Eminem, profiting from works that were not yet authorized for public distribution,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“His conduct undermined both legal and artistic rights. The Criminal Division remains committed to protecting intellectual property, holding accountable those who seek to profit from theft of creative content, and working with our law enforcement partners to deter and disrupt these crimes.” Strange is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2027.
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
“Our republic is built on the right to property,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan. “We will protect that right by punishing criminals who steal the physical or intellectual property of Americans.”
Source: Daily Wire
