Overview
- Joseph Strange pleaded guilty Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, to criminal copyright infringement for selling unreleased recordings by Marshall Mathers and faces up to five years in prison with sentencing scheduled for Jan. 27, 2027.
- Prosecutors say Strange worked at Eminem’s Ferndale studio from about 2007 through 2021 and used his privileged access to copy 10 or more password‑protected audio files that were stored in a safe.
- The files were sold online in July–August 2024 for roughly $50,000 in Bitcoin to buyers including an alias identified as “Doja Rat,” and the tracks later appeared on streaming services.
- An FBI search of Strange’s home on Jan. 28, 2025 recovered original handwritten lyric sheets, a VHS tape with unreleased music and hard drives, one of which indexed about 12,000 audio files that investigators examined.
- The case underscores industry risks from trusted insiders who can bypass internal controls, and it raises questions about how studios protect unfinished material and how labels and law enforcement will respond going forward.