50 Cent, the renowned hip-hop artist and entrepreneur, has fired a warning shot at multinational drinks giant Beam Suntory. In a scathing Instagram post, he made it clear that he won’t tolerate being taken lightly when it comes to financial matters.
Last year, 50 Cent and his premium alcohol brand, Sire Spirits, found themselves embroiled in a legal battle with Beam Suntory. The bone of contention? An alleged embezzlement scheme orchestrated by agents of Beam, resulting in millions of dollars in unpaid invoices. The dispute led to mediation, but it seems the feud is far from over.
On Monday, March 11, 50 Cent took to Instagram once again, aiming his verbal artillery squarely at Beam Suntory. His posts left no room for ambiguity:
“@beamsuntory is gonna pay for what they did, trust me. These big companies think they can get away with anything. It has cost me millions in legal fees. They are gonna find out I’m not the one you want to play with.”
He followed up with a more pointed message:
“Here is a clearer version of the news, @beamsuntory @jimbeamofficial. I’m not the guy you want to get started. In the nicest way, I’m gonna need my money by Monday.”
Accompanying these statements were snippets from a TV news report detailing 50 Cent’s ongoing legal battle with the drinks company.
In a surprising twist, 50 Cent posted an alleged letter from Beam Suntory, dated August 15, 2016. The letter was addressed to one of the individuals implicated in the embezzlement scheme. His caption read:
“This is the letter @beamsuntory sent without my knowledge to the people involved in the scheme that cost me millions. 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?”
Beam Suntory swiftly denied the allegations, stating:
“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.”
However, Sire Spirits’ attorney, Craig Weiner, had a different perspective:
“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. Beam Suntory’s role here is extraordinarily troubling. Beam Suntory’s Chief Commercial Officer, a gentleman by the name of Julious Grant, acting as an employee, as an officer of the company, acting under the actual and parent authority of Beam Suntory facilitated the entire fraud as we plead in our complaint.”
As the legal battle rages on, 50 Cent hinted at turning this saga into an unscripted TV series. Whether justice will prevail or if this feud will escalate further remains to be seen. One thing is certain: 50 Cent won’t back down.
