50 Cent & Branson Cognac Parent Company Head to Mediation Amid Embezzlement Claims

50 Cent and Jim Beam — the parent company of Branson Cognac, which distributes Sire Spirits — have announced that they’ll be heading into court-ordered mediation to try to come to a resolution for their claims against one another.

Bloomberg Law reports that a New York judge has sustained Fif’s claims of “embezzlement” against the liquor giant — and specifically two of its executives, Michael Caruso and Julious Grant — while affirming that the pair “orchestrated an embezzlement scheme that included millions in false invoices.”

Now everyone involved is heading to mediation, which is where a settlement is hopefully going to be reached — and it’s a decision that the judge in the case can fully get behind.

“It seems to me this is the sort of case that should be worked out from the get-go,” New York Supreme Court Justice Melissa Crane said, according to the outlet.

This is just the latest legal battle that Sire Spirits has had to endure.

Back in August 2022, Mitchell Green, the Brand Management director at Le Chemin du Roi champagne, was caught “embezzling” upwards of $2 million from the company until he was caught in 2020.

The champagne company, which translates to “The King’s Path,” was created in 2019 through 50 Cent’s brand Sire Spirits.

While the champagne already costs over $150 a bottle, Green had reportedly been inflating the prices and pocketing extra kickbacks from wholesalers that he claimed were “agency fees,” court documents showed.

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In March 2023, the court issued a final award of $6,194,293 in favor of Sire Spirits, which included pre-judgment interest, attorney’s fees, arbitrator compensation, and other fees.

Green challenged this ruling and tried to have the award vacated, but the court denied his request. The court then added an additional $89,305.50 in attorney’s fees last November.

The court demanded that Green pay a total of $6,283,598.50 in compensatory damages, plus interest.

50 Cent went so far as to reveal that he plans to seize Green’s property, and elaborated on what the plans for said property will entail.

Taking to Instagram on March 15, the G-Unit mogul shared a screenshot of Green’s house along with a report about him taking it, and added his additional plans in the caption.

“I think i’m gonna put Epoxy floors in this place,” he wrote. “I’m gonna keep it and his family pictures around, you know as a theme for the place. LOL.”