A New York state judge on Thursday dismissed a former Beam Suntory Inc. sales contractor’s wiretapping allegations against rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, describing the claims as “ridiculous” and a clear attempt to delay the ongoing $3 million embezzlement case.
50 Cent Wiretap Claim : Frustration in the Courtroom
During a virtual hearing, Supreme Court Justice Melissa A. Crane of Manhattan tossed the reworked claims made by liquor consultant Michael Caruso. The allegations, which accused 50 Cent of violating federal and New Jersey wiretap statutes, also implicated Sire Spirits LLC—50 Cent’s champagne and cognac company—and its general counsel, Stephen Savva.
The civil litigation centers on whether Caruso, Beam Suntory (now called Suntory Global Spirits), and the company’s former chief commercial officer, Julious Grant, were complicit in Sire brand manager Mitchell Green’s criminal scheme to inflate French distillery fees and pocket the difference. Although Green has pled guilty to wire fraud, Caruso, Beam Suntory, and Grant deny any involvement in the plot.
Allegations of Wiretapping
Caruso initially claimed that an unknown Sire employee had illegally recorded a conversation between him and Green while he was in Illinois, a two-party consent state. After Justice Crane dismissed this counterclaim, Caruso amended it, alleging that 50 Cent admitted during his deposition that he had personally recorded the call from New Jersey, a one-party consent state, without informing Savva, Caruso, or Green.
