Eminem’s Former Engineer Faces Federal Charges Over Unreleased Music Theft; Here's What Happened

Eminem's former employee reportedly stole and sold the rapper's unreleased music online — FBI investigation uncovered handwritten lyric sheets, a USD 50,000 Bitcoin deal, and more.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 20, 2025 | 05:39 PM GMT | 4.9K

CC: Getty Images

One of Eminem's former sound engineers is under federal indictment on charges that he stole and sold the rapper's unreleased material on the Internet, prosecutors said Wednesday. FBI investigation has uncovered stolen handwritten lyric sheets and videotapes of the rapper, a USD 50,000 Bitcoin deal, and more.

Page Six reported that Joseph Strange, 46, of Holly, Michigan, has been indicted on a charge of copyright infringement and transportation of stolen goods in interstate commerce.

Prosecutors claim Strange, who was fired at Eminem's Detroit-area studio in 2021, if convicted, could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison. Investigators claim Strange copied files onto an external drive from October 2019 to January 2020 while working as an engineer.

The theft was revealed after studio employees told in January about unreleased songs appearing on sites such as Reddit and YouTube. However, Em's business associate Fred Nassar took to social media to put up a warning on the Internet asking people not to spread the stolen content, which encouraged investigators to locate the purchasers.

Authorities tracked sales of the pilfered music to several purchasers. One purchaser, who goes by the name Doja Rat on the Internet, informed investigators he spent approximately $50,000 in Bitcoin for 25 unreleased tracks, raising money from other Shady enthusiasts.

A second purchaser, ATL of Connecticut, purchased several tracks for $1,000, according to the affidavit. A later FBI raid of Strange's residence yielded handwritten sheets of Em's lyrics, a VHS copy of an unreleased video of the Kamikaze rapper, and hard drives filled with over 12,000 audio files.

In a new release, as per the outlet, US Attorney Julie Beck in Detroit said, "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."

The affidavit also disclosed that Strange had inked a severance deal that kept him from sharing Eminem's material. The Godzilla rapper is yet to officially comment on the case.