50 Cent recently let his feelings be known when he heard that a former employee had enter a guilty plea a criminal case regarding the Sire Spirits scandal.
Mitchell Green, former Sire director of brand management, pleaded guilty on Sept. 18 to defrauding 50 Cent’s Sire Spirits and to wire fraud charges in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
50 Cent wasted no time in making his thoughts known.
He took to Instagram, and wrote the ominous message, “Beam Suntory got me into this mess with these people. They are not going to like the out come.”
Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American-founded, Japanese multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. And it was Beam Suntory’s Michael Caruso who connected 50 and Sire Spirits with Green, according to The New York Post.
Sire Spirits, a small team of five, produces Branson cognac and Le Chemin Du Roi Champagne and is owned by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson with its office in Hoboken, New Jersey.
50 Cent has already won a $6 million civil lawsuit against Green in this saga that started to unfold in 2021. While the rap mogul’s Instagram message makes it clean he’s not happy with Beam Suntory, what’s not clear is the “out come” he mentions in his post.
He also sued Beam Suntory and in August, the case was headed to mediation to settle claims that representatives of Beam Suntory Inc. committed fraud and embezzled money from Sire, according to Bloomberg Law.
A Manhattan judge upheld Sire’s allegations of fraud and conspiracy against Michael Caruso and Julious Grant. They are accused of acting on Beam Suntory’s behalf to assist Sire in its expansion within the alcohol industry. However, the duo is also alleged to have orchestrated an embezzlement scheme involving millions through falsified invoices.
The Backstory
As Finurah previously reported, the trouble began when the former director of brand management Green made exclusive, unauthorized deals with Champagne Castelnau and Raymond Ragnaud, the suppliers of champagne and cognac, respectively.
These deals were meant to favor the suppliers and prevent Sire Spirits from working with other brands.
Additionally, Green negotiated for the company to pay extra fees on every bottle of champagne or cognac.
While Green received more than $2.2 million from 2017-2020 in kickback fees from a pair of French distilleries through an under-the-table agreement, or “agency fees,” with his limited liability company, Sire Spirits spent approximately $15 million on champagne and cognac.
The company terminated his contract and filed a lawsuit, citing breach of contract, fiduciary duty violation, fraud, and more. Green was also charged criminally.
“Though he was supposed to negotiate the best deal possible for his employer, Green set up secret side deals to inflate what his employer paid so that he could reap millions of dollars in kickbacks,” stated Philip Sellinger, U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, in a written statement. “Companies must be able to rely on the integrity of their agents to conduct business.”
Green is set to be sentenced in January, facing a maximum penalty of twice the loss suffered by the Hoboken company, and there’s a chance he may receive a prison sentence.
Civil Lawsuit
In October 2021, the courts awarded Sire Spirits $6 million in damages in its lawsuit against Green, including interest, attorney’s fees, and other expenses.
Green filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 14, 2023, after a 2022 U.S. District Court decision awarded Sire Spirits more than $6.2 million in damages, CT Insider reported.
Sire Spirits is currently challenging Green’s request to delay payments during his bankruptcy case. 50 Cent, along with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and the Internal Revenue Service, is listed as a creditor in Green’s bankruptcy case.
50 Cent once announced on social media that he would get his money from Green via any means, even taking his house away from him. “I need you out of my house by Monday,” 50 Cent posted.
