S. Samuel
R&B singer Ryan Leslie is reportedly getting slapped with a legal suit for not living up to his word after promising to pay up to $1 million for the safe return of his stolen laptop last year.
According to reports, the person responsible for finding Leslie’s laptop now wants over a million bucks.
Armin Augstein said in court filings that he repeatedly tried to reap the reward from the Harlem-based musician after finding the laptop while walking his dog in a Stommelerbusch, Germany, park about a month after the MacBook went missing. Leslie said the computer was swiped from the back of a Mercedes in Cologne on Oct.23, 2010, during a European concert tour. The budding mogul publicized a $20,000 finder’s fee – but then sweetened the reward to $1 million. “It’s unfortunate that my client has to go to such lengths to recover the reward,” said Michael Fischman, Augstein’s U.S.-based lawyer. Augstein, a 52-year-old German, is seeking the $1 million fee plus interest, according to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. (New York Daily News)
Earlier this year, it was discovered that Leslie failed to dish out the reward upon its return.
In a bizarre twist of fate, Leslie’s laptop was discovered on November 27 in Stommlerbusch near Cologne, Germany, when a man happened upon the missing bag while walking through the forest. After finding the missing goods, the discoverer, whose real name is unknown, turned the bag containing the laptop over to local police. But R Les is yet to make good on his reward. Once the bag was recovered, Bernd P. never received his $1 million payout, making the situation public in the media by showing journalists a copy of the singer’s passport and police report and claiming that Leslie won’t return his e-mails. Leslie is yet to speak on recovering his laptop, even after he went so far as to film a YouTube video and accompanying song to help him get it back. Allegedly, the singer had completed his third album ‘Les is More’ and was keeping it on his laptop, as well as other music and visual projects. (The Boom Box)
Leslie initially utilized his Twitter account to inform all 210,000 of his followers about the revamped reward.
“I’m absolutely continuing my Euro tour + I raised the reward for my intellectual property to $1MM. Click to watch:http://on.fb.me/bCBnrM,” he tweeted last year. (Ryan Leslie’s Twitter)
In October 2010, the music hitmaker released a public statement addressing his stolen laptop.
“Good afternoon, this is an announcement offering an award for $20,000 for the recovery of a black bag we believe was stolen last night, October 23rd, from outside of this club. If anybody has seen anything or heard anything, please contact us at [email protected]. We are offering a $20,000 reward for the return of this bag.” (Roka Productions)
Check out Ryan Leslie’s $1 million laptop offer down below:
