The US Department of Justice has announced that two US-based software pirates were successfully prosecuted and sentenced to a total of 21 months in prison.

David Chen Pui, 27, of Fountain Valley, California, and David Lee Pruett, 35, of Auburn, Washington, were sentenced to prison terms of eight and 18 months respectively for their involvement in online software piracy.

They were prosecuted as a result of the Charlotte, North Carolina component of Operation FastLink.

Pui and Pruett pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, Pui for distributing pirated works from his own and other internet sites, and Pruett for his involvement in the software release group Legenda Never Die.

The sentencing follows the recent conviction of Franklin Edward Littel and Shawn Laemmrich in US District Courts in Indianapolis and Marquette respectively.

The four defendants were investigated and charged as part of the same FBI undercover operation headquartered in Charlotte.

Both Little and Laemmrich were sentenced to eight months in prison to be followed by eight months of home confinement.

These are the first federal criminal sentences for members of the 'warez' scene from the Charlotte component of Operation FastLink, an ongoing federal crackdown against organised piracy.

Operation FastLink has resulted in more than 120 search warrants executed in 12 countries, the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs, and the removal of more than $50m worth of illegally copied software, games, movies and music from illicit distribution channels.