An ex-employee formerly under the employment of rap star Eminem has just been charged with the ‘criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods.’ The charge comes in the wake of stolen music that came into highlight this January, allegedly illegally acquired and sold by 46 year old Joseph Strange.
Federal prosecutors have revealed the source of the suspicion as an employee in Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, who suspected wrongdoing by Strange. According to a recent report by WXYZ Detroit, the unnamed employee came to the conclusion after finding stolen music on the Internet and that “they also found an image of a list of music he created but not released, and realized that the image was taken directly from a hard drive,” alluding to malpractice within the studio.
What’s worse is that the drives were password protected and not in use for a few years, so Strange was clearly a trusted employee. The report also explores the modus operandi of the crime, which reveals that Strange sold the music to a person with the alias “Doja Rat” for $50,000. Evidence stated for the charge is a conversation between the tipper and Doja Rat, as well as the record logs regarding file transfer that date to Oct. 16, 2019 and Jan. 16, 2020 — when the files were accessed and when Strange was still in the studio’s employ.
Consequent investigation also led to the discovery of handwritten lyric sheets, VHS tapes with Em’s music and even his personal notes from a safe. Not to mention hard drives with over 12,000 audio files that included songs by Em and his collaborators, which was also discovered during the January 28, 2025 operation by FBI agents.
