The LAPD and Jay Z have closed the investigation into his stolen masters, worth $20 million, a few weeks after reports surfaced that engineer Chauncey Mahan would be charged with criminal extortion. LAPD officials were tipped off that Mahan contacted representatives of Live Nation, parent company of Jay’s Roc Nation entertainment group, to sell masters from 1998 – 2002 recording sessions. Those presumably are masters from recording sessions for six albums including Vol. 3…Life and Times of S. Carter and 2000′s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. Mahan originally asked for $100,000 before agreeing to sell the tapes for a “storage fee” of $750,000 in April.
Mahan told investigators that record company Def Jam asked him to hold onto the masters because no one else would take ownership of them. He says he repeatedly attempted to contact Jay’s camp to return the masters, but he was a “a stupid kid smoking blunts.” He said those calls went unanswered until Jay’s camp caught wind of the pending sale. Jay’s reps said they believed the masters had been lost.
Now LAPD officials are saying that Jay Z has decided not to pursue pressing charges against Mahan for the masters, according to TMZ. But no so fast, Mahan isn’t off the hook yet. A judge order is still pending on who will end up with the masters. Jay’s camp hasn’t revealed why they have decided to drop the charges. Quite possibly they are attempting to shift the focus from the #CarterGate elevator fight with sister-in-law Solange Knowles or focusing on the Carters’ upcoming summer, stadium On The Run Tour.