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Legal Top Stories
German teenager apologises to Lady Gaga for stealing songs
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 10 December 2010
A German teenager who used Trojan horse software to steal music and other files from computers owned by pop stars, including Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ke$ha and Kelly Clarkson, has written a letter to the former apologising for his actions. Deniz A, who also goes by the name of DJ Stolen, said he was “ashamed” of his actions, adding that he had “not really thought about the consequences” of his hacking.
The hacker earned over 10,000 euros from selling the illegally obtained songs, and is accused of blackmailing one star, thought to be Ke$ha, with a “sexually compromising” photograph.
In his letter, Deniz A said: “Dear Lady Gaga, I am ashamed for what I did. I have not really thought about the consequences. I’m incredibly sorry. I realise that my ambition was a big mistake”.
His lawyer, Denise Burke Benecken, told German newspaper Bild: “My client felt as if he were in a feature film. It is almost unbelievable that such a boy could hack the accounts of world stars. He knows he made mistakes”.
The Duisburg prosecutor, Rolf Haferkamp said that the case against Deniz A was building: “At the moment the results are being collated. They now fill two thick volumes. The investigation will be completed soon”.
It’s still not clear exactly how the teenager managed to hack into the personal computers of the celebrities.
