50 Cent addresses Beam Suntory lawsuit: FOX 5 NY EXCLUSIVE

EXCLUSIVE: 50 Cent on Beam Suntory lawsuit

Rapper 50 Cent spoke exclusively with FOX 5 NY about his multi-million dollar lawsuit against liquor giant Beam Suntory, who he says cost him millions of dollars and nearly robbed him of his dream of owning his own liquor company.

Media mogul, multi-platinum rapper, and Sire Sprits owner 50 Cent's lawsuit against Beam Suntory went viral last week after he accused the liquor giant of an embezzlement scheme that he says cost him millions of dollars and nearly robbed him of his dream of owning his own liquor company.

"Now they're at a point where they're gong to see, everybody's going to see. This noise affects them, they get really uncomfortable," he told FOX 5 NY's Lisa Evers in an exclusive interview.

Depositions are underway in the New York State Supreme Court lawsuit of 50 Cent's Sire Spirits vs. Beam Suntory, Michael Caruso, Julios Grant and others.

"People are going to start looking at it, and it's going to be a mess for them," 50 Cent predicts.

Former club king Michael "Lord Michael" Caruso is the first to be deposed under oath in the case. He was a government informant in the Peter Gatien Ecstasy drug trial. Sire Spirits attorney Craig Weiner says he was paid $500,000 a year by Beam Suntory and played a key part in the multi-million dollar kickback scheme.

Beam's former Chief Commercial Officer Julious Grant is also scheduled to be deposed.

"So you have Beam Suntory hiring Mr. Caruso, or should I call him "Lord Michael" as he likes to be known apparently, you have the two of them working together and conspiring in order to get Sire Spirits to buy it's champagne and it's cognac from parties that were given illicit and hidden commissions to them," said Sire Spirits attorney Craig Weiner of Blank Rome LLP.

Beam Suntory once again declined an interview but sent us this statement: "The claims brought by Mr. Jackson and Sire Spirits against Beam Suntory are false and baseless. They are completely lacking in merit - and even more importantly, in evidence. Most of the allegations have already been dismissed. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves and expect to prevail."

In a separate but related case, Mitchell Green pleaded guilty to a federal charge of wire fraud and was ordered to pay more than $7 million to Sire Spirits.

His attorney, Stephen McCarthy says, "In a very difficult work environment, Mr. Green has accepted full responsibility for his actions. He has been very fairly treated in the Federal Court as the matter continues to play out." Green is scheduled for sentencing on April 23rd in Newark Federal Court.

50 Cent believes they wanted his company, SIre Spirits, to fail, because if it had, the alleged embezzlement scheme, which he believes cost him millions of dollars, would not have been discovered.

"This is the type of stuff that happens, and slows down new companies when they're coming in because I guess it prevents them from growing fast enough," 50 Cent said.

Attorney Craig Weiner says they have all the facts they need to prove their claims.

"It's only going to get worse than it is now, when people start paying attention to it, and I'm going to end up making a whole TV show based on it," 50 Cent said.

FOX 5 NY reached out to the attorneys for Michael Caruso and Julious Grant, 2 of the defendants in the case, but did not receive a reply.