A hacker was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing two unreleased tracks from Ed Sheeran as well as selling them on the dark web.
Adrian Kwiatkowski exchanged Sheeran’s music as well as 12 songs by rap star Lil Uzi Vert for crypto.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said that the 23-year-old from Ipswich obtained them upon hacking into the entertainers’ digital accounts.
Kwiatkowski conceded to 19 charges, which include copyright infringement as well as criminal property possession.
According to City of London Police, he earned £131,000 from his music.
Once the accused’s Apple Mac laptop was searched, 565 sound files, which include songs by Sheeran as well as Vert, were discovered, according to Ipswich Crown Court.
Spirdark is an alias.
US authorities first launched an investigation in 2019.
It arose only after management of many musicians revealed to the New York District Attorney that somebody going by the online handle Spirdark had compromised several accounts and had been selling the content.
The investigation connected Kwiatkowski to the email account used to set up Spirdark’s cryptocurrency account. His UK address also was connected to an IP address that had been used to penetrate one of the devices.
Kwiatkowski was apprehended in September 2019 after the case was referred to the London City Police Police.
Police confiscated seven devices, which included a hard drive containing 1,263 unreleased tracks by 89 artists.
A document stored on the hard disk drive summarized the method he also used obtain them, as well as a Bitcoin stash that was seized.
Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor, stated that Kwiatkowski had “total disregard” for the musical artists’ creativity, hard work, as well as lost income.
“He managed to steal their music selfishly to earn cash for himself through selling it via the dark web,” she explained.
“We will pursue ill-gotten benefits from these criminal proceeds.”
Kwiatkowski pled in August to three counts of gaining unauthorized access to computer material, 14 counts of selling copyrighted content, one count of converting criminal property, and two counts of custody of criminal property at Ipswich Magistrates Court.
He also acknowledged obtaining bitcoin cryptocurrency in exchange for the music.
Kwiatkowski was extremely skilled, but it was saddening that he used his abilities illegally according to Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, .
“He not only caused substantial financial damage to several artists as well as their production companies, but he also denied them the right to release their own works,” he added.
The case demonstrated that “cybercrime does not have borders,” according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.
“This individual carried out a sophisticated scheme to steal unreleased songs in order to stuff his own pockets,” he explained.
