Crimes and Court
Joseph Strange, who worked for rapper for 14 years, faces five years in prison on charge of criminal infringement of a copyright
The former employee of Eminem who was arrested for selling the rapper’s unreleased music has pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal infringement of a copyright.
The United States Department of Justice announced Thursday that 48-year-old Joseph Strange, who worked for Eminem in Detroit from 2007 to 2021, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Michigan, 18 months after Strange’s arrest.
According to the criminal complaint against Strange, Eminem first became aware in January 2025 that some of his unreleased music had leaked online and was available for sale. The FBI were contacted, with the investigation uncovering multiple individuals that purchased the unreleased music. Those individuals identified Joseph Strange as the person selling the music.
“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,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement. “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 was initially charged with criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods, but ultimately only pleaded guilty to the former; the Justice Department assessed the value of the leaked tracks — which were “accessed more than eight million times” — at $750,000. Strange faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced on January 27.
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“Today’s guilty plea reinforces a simple principle: accountability follows those who compromise the integrity of another person’s creative labor,” Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan of the FBI Detroit Field Office said in a statement. “We also appreciate the cooperation of Mathers Music Studio throughout the investigation. Protecting intellectual property means protecting the time, talent, and livelihoods behind it, and we will continue to treat these violations with the seriousness they deserve.”
A rep for the rapper did not immediately reply to a request for comment.