Ryan Leslie ordered to pay $1 Million for returned laptop

Now, I'm a huge fan and supporter of Ryan Leslie's music. Have been since 2009. But, as Harvard educated individual, I must say I expect more sound decision making. He is being ordered to pay a German man $1 million. Hip Hop Wired reports:

Ryan Leslie got what he wished for, and now he has to pay for it. A Manhattan federal court jury has ordered the singer/songwriter to pay a German autoworker a cool $1 million for finding and returning the crooner and sometimes rapper's stolen laptop.


Leslie previously went to YouTube when his laptop was initially lost asking for its return and offering the reward for whoever returned. Initially, in late October 2010 he offered a $20K reward before upping the ante to $1 million the next month. However, once he got back his Macbook (which was stolen from a Mercedes-Benz while he was on tour in Cologne, Germany), Leslie didn't feel obligated to pay up—citing that the music files he needed were damaged and implying that Armin Augustein was involved in the theft. Augstein, who returned the computer to German authorities in November 2010, filed a lawsuit to get his dough.

The New York Post, who takes particular delight in calling Leslie a rapper and throwing Hip-Hop jargon into their story, reports that Augustin is happy with the decision. "I'm very happy . . . that the American judicial system, which is so totally different from ours, functioned so well with a jury that are not professionals and are laymen," said Augustin in German.

The verdict came down after only three hours of deliberations.

Ryan Leslie took to Twitter to comment on the decision. "Ain't no way to get around ups & downs." Jury of my peers rules for the plaintiff," he tweeted.