by Anne Pollman, Jamie Grasse
Detroit, Michigan – Rapper Eminem’s former employee, who was previously charged with stealing and selling unreleased music, has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement, according to court documents.
The defendant, Eminem’s former employee Joseph Strange, allegedly sold at least ten audio files for a total of about $50,000, per a statement from the Department of Justice.
48‑year‑old Strange pleaded guilty to copyright infringement on Thursday. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The former Eminem employee was charged with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods in March 2025, per Variety.
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According to the Justice Department, Strange worked for Eminem – real name Marshall Mathers – from 2007 to 2021 and had access to password‑protected hard drives containing music that was still in development and not yet ready for release.
At some point, Strange copied 10 files without the rapper’s knowledge. Then, between July and August 2024, the files were sold on online streaming platforms, and by November.
“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 in a statement.
Strange’s attorney Wade Fink described the DOJ’s press release as “hyperbolic” and “self-congratulatory.”
Fink said, “Joe Strange is a good man whose children have suffered greatly in all of this.”
He went on to caution the public that the actual situation is “a far more complicated and nuanced matter than a man just unabashedly stealing.”
“Nevertheless, my client has taken accountability for what he has done,” he added.
Strange’s sentencing is set for January 2027.
