50 Cent has warned multinational drinks company Beam Suntory that he is not to be played with after he accused them of fraud.
Last year, 50 and his alcohol brand Sire Spirits headed to mediation with the company after he accused agents of Beam of an embezzlement scheme that involved millions in unpaid invoices.
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50 renewed his attack on Beam Suntory — the parent company of Branson Cognac, which distributes Sire Spirits — on Monday (March 11) in a series of scathing Instagram posts.
“@beamsuntory is gonna pay for what they did trust me,” he wrote. “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.”
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He added: “Here is a clearer version of the News, @beamsuntory @jimbeamofficial I’m not the guy you want to get started. In nicest way I’m gonna need my money by Monday.”
The posts included footage of a TV news report about 50’s legal battle with the drinks company.
50 Cent then posted an alleged letter from Beam Suntory dated August 15, 2016 to one of the people accused of embezzlement.
“This is the letter @beamsuntory sent without my knowledge to the people involved in the scheme that cost me millions,” he wrote in the caption.
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“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.
The Power and BMF producer concluded his tirade by teasing a TV series about the scandal: “This will make a great unscripted project.”
Beam Suntory have denied the accusations, telling FOX 5 New York in a statement: “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.”
Sire Spirits attorney Craig Weiner, on the other hand, said: “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.”
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Weiner added: “I question where was your compliance program? How did they get away with Mr. Grant receiving payments under the scheme for years and years. Where were you? How did you allow this to happen? This is a heavily regulated industry.”
It is estimated that over $6 million was stolen in the alleged fraud.
