Three alleged software pirates face criminal copyright infringement charges for selling illegal copies of popular software titles on Craigslist. If convicted, the three New York-area men each face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. All three are free on bail.

"I and other agents have observed numerous advertisements for the unlawful sale of pirated computer software over Craigslist ". FBI agent Michael Petronella stated in the complaint.

In each case, the defendants supplied a file with the software that contained the serial numbers for the program. Yesser went so far as to warn the undercover agent not to register the titles with the manufacturer. Instead, he told the agent how to install the software using "cracked keys" that came with the title.

Cracked software has been stripped of its internal copyright protections. The DoJ said in a statement Yesser also told the agent he worked with a group in Romania that cracked software and that "he could get anything."

In selling his illegal software, Lnu told an undercover agent his titles required not only the serial numbers he provided but also a key generator used to gain unauthorized access to a software title.

"I spoke to a representative of…Macromedia and provided the serial numbers for the Macromedia products (Lnu) sold and was informed by the representative that these serial numbers were pirated and not generated by Macromedia," the undercover agent stated in a deposition.