Adrian Kwiatkowski, a computer hacker from Ipswich, England, who went by the handle “Spirdark” and orchestrated a lucrative scam involving the theft and selling of unreleased music by well-known recording artists, has been ordered to pay back £100,000.

When police caught him, his illegal activities—which included exchanging the stolen music for bitcoin on the dark web—came to a stop.

Adrian Kwiatkowski, an Ipswich, England native, was given an 18-month prison sentence in October of last year for his role in stealing unreleased music from several well-known musicians, such as Ed Sheeran and Lil Uzi Vert.

His evil scheme comprised breaking into private internet accounts belonging to well-known management organizations without authorization.

Surprisingly, when investigators looked through Kwiatkowski’s hard drive, they discovered an astounding collection of more than 1,200 unheard songs.

Kwiatkowski amassed a sizeable sum of more than £130,000 by selling the stolen songs for cryptocurrencies on the dark web under the alias “Spirdark.”

His illegal actions, nevertheless, weren’t ignored. His activities were reported to law authorities, which prompted the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to launch a thorough inquiry.

The inquiry was successful in locating Kwiatkowski’s Ipswich residence using the email address used to create Spirdark’s Bitcoin account.

Kwiatkowski admitted guilt to 14 charges of violating copyright, three counts of abusing computers, and three Proceeds of Crime Act violations after the inquiry. He faced justifiable judicial repercussions for his serious crimes.

A crucial step in the case occurred on May 26, 2023, when the court issued a confiscation order compelling Kwiatkowski to pay back £101,053 to the authorities.

He now has three months to make good on this financial commitment. His prison term will be extended by an extra 18 months if he doesn’t cooperate.

Kwiatkowski is required to hand over 2.64 bitcoin, valued £49,528 under the provisions of the confiscation order.

This significant action represents the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit’s (PIPCU) first ever bitcoin confiscation.

In addition, he must forfeit £51,975 from his bank accounts. These steps make sure that Kwiatkowski won’t be able to continue receiving money from his illegal operations.