The first federal prosecution of an online criminal copyright infringement case to go to trial has ended in a conviction that clearly proclaims: Music piracy is stealing – and can put you in jail.

Barry Gitarts, 25, of Brooklyn, N.Y., now faces up to five years in jail, a fine of $250,000, and three years of probation. Recently convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, he is also required to make full restitution for the hundreds of thousands of copies of pirated material released over the Internet.

Testimony and evidence presented during the trial revealed that Gitarts – a member of the Internet music piracy group Apocalypse Production Crew (APC) and operating under the alias “Dextro” – received payment from APC for administering a computer server located in Texas that APC group members used to upload and download hundreds of thousands of copies of pirated music, movies, software and video games.

APC apparently acted as a “first-provider” or “release group” of pirated content on to the Internet. Release groups are the original sources for a majority of the pirated works distributed and downloaded via the Internet. Once a group prepares a stolen work for distribution, the material is distributed in minutes to secure computer servers throughout the world.

The case is just the latest success story in Operation FastLink – an ongoing federal crackdown which targets violators of the NET ACT, which refers to infringements on copyrights for financial gain, the illegal distribution of music within a six-month period, and the distribution of any pre-released content. Fighting organized piracy groups behind the illegal distribution of copyrighted movies, software, games and music on the Internet, Operation FastLink is a coordinated effort involving four separate but simultaneous undercover investigations by the FBI, the FBI Cyber Division, the US Department of Justice, the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division, and Interpol. A major component of the effort is reportedly Operation Higher Education, participated in by twelve nations.

To date, Operation FastLink has resulted in 56 convictions (including 15 criminal convictions of APC members), more than 200 search warrants executed in 15 countries (including Belgium, Denmark, France Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden and the UK), confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs, and removal of more than 100 million dollars worth of illegally-copied copyrighted software, games, movies and music from illicit distribution channels.

The conviction was hailed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has repeatedly demanded that the case be taken to court. Indeed, the Gitarts case is the first federal prosecution of an online criminal copyright infringement case to have gone to trial.

Chuck Rosenberg, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, also lauded the trial results, saying, “Music piracy is stealing and, unless you want to end up in a federal prison, don’t do it.”