Madonna ‘Rebel Heart’ Hacker Indicted on Four Counts
The Israeli man accused of hacking into Madonna and her associates’ computers and leaking songs destined for the singer’s March 6th-bound Rebel Heart has been indicted on four counts. Adi Lederman, who three years ago tried out for Israel’s then-top-rated TV singing competition Kochav Nolad (A Star Is Born), was charged with computer trespassing, prohibited secret monitoring, copyright infringement and obstructing investigation, The Hollywood Reporter writes.
According to court documents, Lederman was able to steal the demo versions of Madonna’s Rebel Heart tracks by infiltrating the private cloud accounts of Madonna associates Sara Zambreno, engineer Angie Teo and musical director Kevin Antunes as well as an e-mail account belonging to Madonna’s manager Guy Oseary. Lederman had allegedly compromised Zambreno’s cloud going back to 2012, with court documents accusing the hacker of also stealing MDMA‘s “Give Me All Your Luvin’.” That song leaked out after Lederman sold the file to an unspecified person.
Lederman’s hack wasn’t an especially profitable endeavor, as court documents show that he was only compensated from “tens of dollars to a thousand dollars” for what he grabbed off the cloud accounts, which he then sold to two accomplices. Lederman’s obstruction of the investigation charge comes after he advised an accomplice to erase all of their correspondence after Lederman became suspicious that authorities were on his trail. If found guilty of all counts, Lederman faces up to five years in prison.
“I am profoundly grateful to the FBI, the Israeli Police investigators and anyone else who helped lead to the arrest of this hacker,” Madonna said in a Facebook message at the time of Lederman’s arrest. “I deeply appreciate my fans who have provided us with pertinent information and continue to do so regarding leaks of my music. Like any citizen, I have the right to privacy. This invasion into my life – creatively, professionally, and personally remains a deeply devastating and hurtful experience, as it must be for all artists who are victims of this type of crime.”