$1.2 Million Laptop Reward: Judge Orders Ryan Leslie to Pay Up
A $1.2 million laptop reward must be paid by a Grammy nominated rapper, a court has ordered.
Rapper and R&B artist Ryan Leslie, who was nominated for a Grammy in 2011, had his laptop stolen and wanted to the music files on it so badly that he initially offered a $20,000 reward for its return.
The laptop was taken along with a backpack from a car chauffeuring him around Cologne in Germany in 2010 as he conducted a number of performances in the city.
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However, after no leads came forward with the backpack he increased his offer of reward to $1 million for any of the files or intellectual property stored on the laptop and hard-drive.
His attorney, David DeStefano, has said, "He made a second reward video and offered $1 million for just the intellectual property on the external hard drive and computer, the session files," according to ABC News.
He added, "They're different from just an MP3, MP3s are nothing for a producer or a studio engineer, they can't do anything with them. They need the session files. These were his compositions."
A month after making that $1 million offer, a German man named Armin Augstein came forward and reported to police that he had found Leslie's laptop and backpack in a garbage bag in a forest.
Augstein claimed that he had brought the possession back to his residence to inspect it further. He then claims to have found Leslie's passport in the bag. A simple internet search allowed him to find out who the artist was and how he had made an offer for a reward for its return.
However, despite the laptop being returned Leslie refused to pay out the reward as he claimed that his music files on the laptop had been corrupted.
That refusal led Augstein to seek legal advice and file a lawsuit against the music artist.
According to court documents a federal court in Manhattan has ruled that Leslie pay Augstein the $1 million in full, as well as an additional $180,000 for interest from when the laptop was found in 2010 until the ruling.
On Friday, the court once again sided with Augstein and ordered Leslie to pay an additional $180,000 to Augstein for interest that accrued between when the laptop was found, in 2010, and when the decision came down from federal court in 2012.
The Leslie camp has suggested it will be appealing the verdict.
