DETROIT — An Oakland County man accused of selling some of Eminem's unreleased music is expected to plead guilty to leaking copies of the superstar's rap tracks, according to federal court records.

Holly resident Joseph Strange, 48, who worked for Eminem, is scheduled to plead guilty Oct. 22 before U.S. District Judge Brandy McMillion to one count of criminal copyright infringement, a crime punishable by up to five years in federal prison.

In exchange for admitting he leaked at least 10 copies of at least one track between July 2024 and January 2025, prosecutors have agreed to drop a more serious charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods, a 10-year felony.

Strange was arraigned on the infringement charge on Sept. 11.

"The parties have been negotiating a resolution in this matter to spare everyone's resources," Strange's lawyer, Wade Fink, told The Detroit News. "But it will only happen if that result is fair to my client. I expect him to do what is best for himself and his family. The truth, though, is a far cry from what the allegations claim."

The court hearing on Friday came 18 months after Strange was charged initially. Prosecutors alleged Strange stole computer hard drives from Marshall Mathers' Ferndale music studio that contained unreleased music created by the rap star and sold it on the Internet.

"As we stated at the outset of this case, the significant damage caused by Joe Strange cannot be overstated," Dennis Dennehy, a longtime spokesman for Eminem, said in a statement. "Strange was trusted to protect Eminem's artistic output, and while it's satisfying to see him held accountable for his criminal conduct, we hope he will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

"The levels of lying, deception and criminality undertaken by this man over the course of years are unfathomable, unforgettable and both legally and morally reprehensible," Dennehy added.

According to the complaint, Strange worked for Mathers from 2007 until he was let go in 2021.

On or about Jan. 16, 2025, a member of Mathers' staff contacted FBI agents in Detroit to report that they found unreleased music the rapper created was available online, court records said. Employees told agents they recognized the music and a list of songs as items on a hard drive taken from the Ferndale studio.

Investigators identified and located multiple individuals who bought the unreleased music, court documents said. Agents spoke with the buyers, who told them Joseph Strange sold them the music.

One of the buyers, an Ontario resident, told investigators he sent Strange an estimated $50,000 worth of Bitcoin payments over about six months, according to the federal complaint.

On Jan. 28, 2025, agents executed a search warrant at Strange's Holly home and recovered evidence, including the allegedly stolen hard drives that contained copies of the unreleased music sold online as well as handwritten notes/lyric sheets Mathers created, the complaint said.

Separately, Eminem's music publisher has filed suit against multinational tech company Meta, alleging the Detroit rapper's songs are used on Meta's social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, without proper licensing.

Eight Mile Style LLC said Meta has created and stored copies of Eminem's songs on their servers and distributed them to billions of users around the world in violation of copyright law. The publisher said the rapper's songs have been utilized by social media users in millions of videos that have collectively been viewed billions of times.

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