Two people who admitted being part of a ring that distributed illegal copies of music on the Internet before its commercial release were sentenced Friday to prison terms of between six and 15 months.
The US Justice Department said three people had pleaded guilty to involvement in piracy groups responsible for millions of dollars of illegal distribution of copyrighted movies, software, games and music on the Internet.
George Hayes, 31, who admitted criminal copyright infringement in a pre-release group called "Chromance," or "CHR," was sentenced to 15 months in prison by US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, according to officials.
Separately, Judge Claude Hilton sentenced Aaron Jones, 30, to six months in prison and six months' home confinement. The judge also sentenced Derek Borchardt, 22, to six months' home confinement.
Jones and Borchardt each pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for their involvement in the pre-release music group "Apocalypse Crew," or "APC."
Another alleged APC member, Matthew Howard, 24, will be sentenced next week.
Officials said these were the first federal criminal sentences for members of pre-release music groups stemming from the government's Operation FastLink, which aims to crack down on illegal copies of copyrighted movies, software, games and music on the Internet.
"Federal law enforcement is dedicated to prosecuting online piracy in all forms," said US Attorney Chuck Rosenberg. "These sentences are part of a concerted federal effort to ensure that pirates cannot hide behind the perceived anonymity of the Internet."
Operation FastLink is an undercover FBI investigation which has been aided by the Recording Industry Association of America and several of its member companies, according to the Justice Department.
Officials say the pre-release groups obtain digital copies of songs and albums before their commercial release in the United States and distribute them within minutes to computer servers throughout the world to various networks for download.
