11/16/2012 -A Michigan man was arraigned last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on charges of mail fraud and selling counterfeit Microsoft software worth more than $1.2 million, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Bruce Edward, 48, of Atlanta, Michigan, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Bay City, Michigan, with five counts of criminal copyright infringement and one count of mail fraud.

Edward is alleged to have distributed counterfeit copies of Microsoft Office 2003 Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Professional software after buying counterfeit copies from China and Singapore. They were then sold on eBay and distributed through the U.S. Postal Service, according to a DOJstatement. The indictment also alleges that he obtained more than $140,000 between May 2008 and September 2010 by selling more than 2,500 copies of the software, which had a retail value of more than $1.2 million.

Edward faces a maximum of 45 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted. The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation that requires Edward, if convicted, to forfeit all criminal proceeds and counterfeit items and any property used to commit any crimes.

The case was investigated by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center task force in addition to investigators from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of Homeland Security.