A man who worked for Eminem for 14 years is accused of illegally selling the Detroit rap artist’s unreleased music online, according to federal prosecutors.

A federal criminal complaint has been filed against the former longtime employee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced in a March 19 news release.

The man, a 46-year-old resident of Holly, Michigan, is charged with criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods, according to prosecutors. Holly is about a 55-mile drive northwest from Detroit.

Attorney information for the man wasn’t immediately available the afternoon of March 19.

Eminem’s longtime spokesperson, Dennis Dennehy, said in a statement to McClatchy News on March 19 that “Eminem and his team are very appreciative of the efforts by the FBI Detroit bureau for its thorough investigation which led to the charges against (the former employee).”

“The significant damage caused by a trusted employee to Eminem’s artistic legacy and creative integrity cannot be overstated, let alone the enormous financial losses incurred by the many creators and collaborators that deserve protection for their decades of work,” Dennehy added.

Employees find Eminem’s leaked music

In January, employees working for Eminem, also known as Marshall Mathers, alerted the FBI that the rapper’s unreleased music was available online, according to prosecutors.

They “obtained an image of a list of the music that Mathers had created, but not released, and was for sale through various internet sites,” prosecutors said.

The employees realized the image was taken from a hard drive, which had been at Mather’s music studio in Ferndale, where they work, according to prosecutors. Ferndale is a Detroit suburb.

Mathers, a multi-award-winning artist and lyricist, had not finished developing the music, according to prosecutors.

During the investigation, the FBI tracked down several people who boughtMathers’ unreleased songs, prosecutors said.

The buyers told the FBI that the man, who was identified as Mathers’ former employee, sold the music to them, according to prosecutors.

The employee had worked for Eminem from about 2007 through 2021, prosecutors said.

Dennehy previously commented on the music leak while speaking with Billboard, the outlet reported on Jan. 16.

“These leaked songs were studio efforts never meant for public consumption … demos, experiments and ideas that are dated and not relevant so many years later,” Dennehy told Billboard. “The latest in a line of unfinished material released against artists’ will and without their permission.”

If Mathers’ former employee is convicted on the charge of criminal infringement of a copyright, he’d face up to five years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors.

If he’s convicted of interstate transportation of stolen goods, he’d face up to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“We will continue to take any and all steps necessary to protect Eminem’s art and will stop at nothing to do so,” Dennehy told McClatchy News.

FBI Special Agent in Charge of the agency’s Michigan field office, Cheyvoryea Gibson, said in a statement that “this investigation underscores the FBI’s commitment to safeguarding artists’ intellectual property from exploitation by individuals seeking to profit illegally.”

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