Computer hackers who stole Michael Jackson music sentenced

Two men charged with hacking into Sony Music's computers and stealing MICHAEL JACKSON's back catalog have been sentenced to 100 community service hours.

Sony record company bosses purchased the music collection from the Bad hitmaker's estate for $250 million (GBP156 million) back in 2010, but the label's archive was infiltrated by cyber crooks a year later (Apr11).

James Marks and James McCormick, both residents of the U.K., were taken into custody and charged with computer misuse and copyright offenses after allegedly illegally downloading 8,000 digital files and never-before-heard Jackson songs.

Both fans pleaded not guilty in 2012 and on Friday (11Jan13) they appeared at England's Leicester Crown Court, where they were handed their punishment, according to the Associated Press.