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Details: Category: Gossip; Published on 11 July 2015; Hits: 5924

An aspiring singer, who auditioned for Israel’s top TV song competition, was sentenced on Thursday to 14 months in prison after he was convicted of stealing and selling unreleased songs by pop star Madonna.

Adi Lederman was arrested earlier in 2015 and after confessing, reached a plea deal on charges that he hacked into the computers of people linked to Madonna and then stole and sold her songs.

Lederman was also fined 15,000 shekels, or about 3,900 dollars.

The court ruled that the “appropriate” sentence should serve as a deterrent for future hacking incidents.

Songs from Madonna’s latest album Rebel Heart were leaked online in 2014. At the time, she urged her fans not to listen to the stolen copies that had surfaced, writing on Instagram - “I have been violated as a human and an artist.” She later released six songs, calling it an “early Christmas gift” for fans.

The investigation into Lederman’s activities began after Madonna’s representative in Israel lodged a complaint. The investigation was coordinated with the FBI.