Adi Lederman, a 39-year-old Israeli who was arrested just over a month ago in Tel Aviv on suspicion of hacking into Madonna’s computer, has been formally indicted on four counts related to the incident. The charges that Lederman has been indicted on are computer trespassing, prohibited secret monitoring, copyright infringement, and obstructing an investigation. He is currently awaiting trial in Israel for the hacking and monitoring, which possibly dates back to 2012.
According to reports, Lederman was able to obtain demo versions of songs set to appear in Madonna’s upcoming Rebel Heart album, which he did by hacking into the private cloud accounts of Madonna associates Sara Zambreno, engineer Angie Teo, and musical director Kevin Antunes, as well as an email account belonging to Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary. After he managed to obtain these files, he sold them to someone who has yet to be identified. This person then released the tracks online. According to indictment papers obtained by the Hollywood Reporter , tracks from Madonna’s Rebel Heart weren’t the only things that Lederman was able to get his hands on.
“During 2012, after trespassing Zambrano’s cloud account as detailed in the first count, the defendant copied an early version of the song Give Me All Your Luvin’ by Madonna for trading purposes and sold it soon after.”
According to some reports , the hacking, and subsequent leaking of some of the tracks from Rebel Heart prompted Madonna to release several tracks from the album back in December. After Lederman’s arrest five weeks ago, in a post on her Facebook page, Madonna expressed her gratitude to those who had investigated the crime, as well as thanking her fans.
“I am profoundly grateful to the FBI, the Israeli Police investigators and anyone else who helped lead to the arrest of this hacker. 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.”
So far, a date for the trial has yet to be announced, though the state attorney’s office has asked that Lederman be held without bail, due to the fact that they fear he may be a threat to public safety. If found guilty, Lederman faces a jail sentence of up to five years.
[Image via Jason Merritt/Getty Images ]
