To field and respond to purchase orders for software programs, Vysochanskyy created online aliases, such as "Patricia Brekles" and "Kevin McGuigan," Ryan said. Vysochanskyy communicated using Web-based e-mail accounts, an e-mail account from a California-based educational company and a remote e-mail application to further disguise his identity, the U.S. attorney said.

To receive payment for the counterfeit software, Vysochanskyy relied on intermediaries in the United States and elsewhere as well as online payment processors to forward him funds -- including more than $20,000 sent to him via wire transfers to a bank account in Lithuania, Ryan said.

Vysochanskyy was already in custody and will begin serving his sentence immediately.

The prosecution follows a two-year investigation by agents from the San Francisco Electronic Crimes Task Force, which includes agents from the Secret Service, the Postal Inspection Service and the criminal investigation unit of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Ryan said. The U.S. Embassy in Thailand and the authorities in that nation, including the Royal Thai Police, collaborated in Vysochanskyy's capture and extradition. Authorities from Canada, Lithuania and Ukraine also took part in the investigation, Ryan said.

The investigation was overseen by the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Unit of the United States Attorney's Office.