WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A former scientist for a Kentucky-based government contractor involved in defense and law enforcement work was sentenced Monday to a year and day in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy in an international software piracy scheme.

Prosecutors said Wronald Best, 55, bought more than $600,000 pirated software programs from Xiang Li, a Chinese national who is awaiting sentencing in May. Prosecutors also said Best paid $6,000 to obtain more than 60 industrial software applications, worth more than $2.3 million, from Chinese and Russian sources who “cracked” access control mechanisms preventing unauthorized use.