50 Cent’s spirits venture was nearly at the brink of closure, according to Fox 5 in New York, NY.
The outlet notes that the rapper and “Power” executive producer has been in a court battle over the loss of millions of dollars in an alleged embezzlement scheme. A 70-page New York State Supreme Court Complaint alleges his company, Sire Spirits, lost revenue due to being overcharged by distiller Beam Suntory, which then split the profits with Mitchell Green, the former director of brand management for Sire Spirits.
The complaint claims the loss is estimated to be over $6 million.
“Because these illicit commissions were baked into the price of the product, Sire Spirits overpaid on taxes, overpaid on customs and duties, overpaid on insurance, which are marked towards the value of the product,” Sire Spirits Attorney Craig Weiner said, according to Fox 5.
Furthermore, Beam Suntory’s chief commercial officer, Julious Grant, is being accused of wearing various hats, including Beam Suntory’s employee, officer of the company, and serving “under the actual and parent authority of Beam Suntory,” while leading the scheme.
“Beam Suntory’s role here is extraordinarily troubling,” Weiner expressed, per Fox 5.
50 Cent, aka Curtis James Jackson III, took to Instagram and shared a letter issued by Beam Suntory to individuals involved in the scheme and expressed his disdain towards the matter.
“This is the letter @beamsuntory sent without my knowledge to the people involved in the scheme that cost me millions,” he wrote. “Do I really need to hold a press conference to walk everyone through exactly what happened with convicted felon Mitchel E. Green, Julious Grant, Arnaud Fabre and the guy Beam paid millions of dollars to help sell my brands, ‘Lord Michael’ Caruso. This will make a great unscripted project.”
Beam Suntory also responded to the matter in a statement issued to Fox 5. It read: “Beam Suntory vehemently denies all allegations of wrongdoing. It had no involvement in or knowledge of the fraudulent activity alleged in the complaint, and any allegation to the contrary has no basis in fact. It is undisputed that we honored all prior obligations to Mr. Jackson and Sire Spirits, and it is very unfortunate that the parties involved continue to misrepresent the facts and misdirect blame in an attempt to recover fees and damages.”
Fox 5 also noted, Green, an alleged co-conspirator, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a related case.
“It’s only through the hard work of Mr. Jackson that the company was able to survive and now is starting to flourish,” Weiner told the outlet.
