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A former engineer who worked with Eminem is reportedly preparing to plead guilty in a federal case involving the leak and sale of unreleased music from the Detroit rapper.
According to federal court records cited by The Detroit News, 48-year-old Joseph Strange is scheduled to plead guilty on October 22 to one count of criminal copyright infringement. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison.
As part of the proposed plea agreement, Strange is expected to admit to distributing roughly 10 copies of an unreleased Eminem song between July 2024 and January 2025. In exchange, prosecutors would drop a separate charge involving interstate transportation of stolen goods.
The case gained attention after at least 25 unreleased Eminem tracks, reportedly recorded between 1998 and 2018, surfaced online in January 2025. Investigators later recovered the songs from a hard drive found at Strange’s Detroit home during an FBI search.
Strange’s attorney, Wade Fink, said the two sides have been negotiating a resolution while maintaining that the full circumstances differ from the allegations. Eminem spokesperson Dennis Dennehy, meanwhile, said the leaks caused significant damage and called for Strange to be held accountable.
