What did King Bob do? Music leaker pleads guilty after allegedly leaking unreleased music from Playboi Carti, Ariana Grande, Lil Uzi Vert & more
On Saturday, April 5, Noah Michael Urban, better known online as "King Bob," pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, including aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiring to commit wire fraud.
The 19-year-old music leaker from Palm Coast, Florida, gained notoriety for leaking unreleased music from several celebrity artists, including Playboi Carti, Ariana Grande, and Lil Uzi Vert. He has also been linked to a cybercrime group known as Scattered Spider.
According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Scattered Spider is a cybercriminal group that targets large companies and their contracted IT help desks, often engaging in data extortion and other criminal activities.
According to HypeFresh, some of the unreleased Carti tracks leaked online by King Bob include 24 Songs, Celine, and She Might. These leaks reportedly impacted the release plans of many artists, resulting in financial losses for both the artists and their labels.
As reported by NME on January 18, 2024, King Bob also went by other aliases, including Sosa, Elijah, and Anthony Ramirez.
King Bob was arrested by the FBI in January last year
King Bob's guilty plea comes more than a year after his arrest on January 9, 2024. Urban. At the time, he pleaded not guilty and faced up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud charge if convicted.
He also faced a mandatory penalty of two years' imprisonment for the aggravated identity offenses. Per the jail logs, Urban was handed another charge, of being a fugitive from justice, when he was picked up by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, NME reported.
Besides leaking music, King Bob was reportedly involved in cryptocurrency theft worth $800,000, having stolen the money from five individuals through a cryptocurrency scheme, as per NME.
When the FBI released information about King Bob's group, Scattered Spider, in 2024, it was speculated that over 1,000 juvenile cybercriminals were a part of it, with Urban being a central figure.
The criminal activities for which Urban was booked were allegedly executed between August 2022 and March 2023. As part of his plea deal, Urban is expected to make restitution to all his victims. His sentencing should begin in about 75 days.
The alleged leaker of Eminem's unreleased music was charged last month
King Bob's guilty plea comes weeks after Joseph Strange—a former employee of Eminem—was charged by federal prosecutors with copyright infringement for allegedly stealing and selling the rapper's unreleased music online.
Julie Beck, the acting US Attorney, said in a public statement:
"Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others."
The Mockingbird rapper's spokesperson, Dennis Dennehy, shared a statement with Variety, expressing their gratitude to the FBI Detroit for charging Strange:
"Eminem and his team are very appreciative of the efforts by the FBI Detroit bureau for its thorough investigation which led to the charges against Joe Strange."
If convicted of copyright infringement, Joseph Strange faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
