A member of the in-theater camcording gang known as the IMAGiNE Group was handed a 40-month prison term Thursday in what is the nation's longest sentence in a file-sharing case.

A Virginia federal judge handed the term to Gregory A. Cherwonik, 53, of New York, a year after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement.

In all, five members of the group have pleaded guilty to operating what prosecutors described as being the most prolific piracy release group between 2009 and 2011.

According to the indictment, (.pdf) the group sought "to be the premier group to first release to the internet copies of new motion pictures only showing in movie theaters."

The Motion Picture Association of America said IMAGiNE was more successful than any other illegal internet release group because of its "short latency periods between the theatrical release and their pirated release, their consistently good quality of audio captures, their high volume of releases, and their connection to international suppliers."

Group members would audio-record films such as Friends With Benefits and Captain America: The First Avenger. Others members would record the film at a theater with a camcorder. Then the sound and video would be combined into a full-featured movie, the authorities said.

Other films the group recorded and uploaded included The Men Who Stare at Goats, Avatar, Clash of the Titans, Iron Man 2, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and, among others, The Green Hornet.

The authorities said the group utilized servers in France, Canada and the United States to offer in-theater-only movies from websites like unleashthe.net, pure-imagination.us and pure-imagination.info.

The indictment said the group accepted donations "to fund expenses, including the cost of renting servers used by the conspirators, and to accept payments for the unauthorized distribution and sale of pirated copies of copyrighted works." The indictment charged that the IMAGiNE Group's websites included member profiles, a torrent tracker, discussion forums and a message board.

Also on Thursday, Javier E. Ferrer, 41, of Florida pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement for his role in IMAGiNE. He is to be sentenced in March and faces a maximum five-year prison term.

Last month, Sean Lovelady, 28, of California, was handed 23 months and had agreed to cooperate with the authorities. Willie Lambert, 57, of Pennsylvania, was given 30 months and ordered to pay $450,000 in restitution, the authorities said. A fifth man, Jeremiah Perkins, is to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to a criminal copyright charge in August.

Among the reasons why Cherwonik got the highest term, he was described as the "sysop," (.pdf) the highest level in the IMAGiNE group. What's more, according to prosecutors, he continued as the group's leader for a year after his Canandaigua, New York, residence was searched by the authorities.