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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.

However, Justice Crane found these amended allegations to be both time-barred by a two-year statute of limitations and fundamentally flawed. She emphasized that Caruso lost the right to challenge the recording after his own counsel played the tape during depositions.

"This whole thing is ridiculous," Justice Crane stated. "Both parties have affirmatively used this tape in this case. You cannot have a sword and shield situation. … This is an obvious tactic to delay this case, so it's out."

Legal Teams Face the Judge's Wrath

Justice Crane’s frustrations extended beyond Caruso’s counsel, Paul Fishman of Arnold & Porter, who protested the dismissal. She also expressed displeasure with Sire Spirits’ lawyers for attempting to reinstate claims that had been previously dismissed.

The judge denied Sire’s bid to re-plead punitive damages and reserved judgment on whether to reintroduce Caruso's wife, Gina, into the case and add a new claim against Beam Suntory for lost enterprise value.