Chris Chong Kim, 28, will be required to pay back the $600,000 he took illegally from customers ordering computer parts, but receiving nothing. He will spend the day times working to raise money, and his nights will be spent behind bars.

"Part of the pay he earns will pay for his upkeep and he has to also pay all the victims back in three years," district attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison said. Robison said it was not clear what type of work Kim will do.

More than 170 people worldwide registered complaints against Kim and his company, Calvin Auctions, with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, prosecutors said.

At his sentencing, Kim turned over 81 checks totaling $100,000 that will go toward repaying the $180,000 he owes to 80 of his victims. He also owes money to Bank of America and PayPal, the Internet payment service provider, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Fairtlough said.

PayPal, which is owned by Ebay, paid $370,000 to reimburse Kim's customers for the laptops, computers and other equipment they purchased but did not receive. Bank of America, which maintained Kim's bank accounts, lost nearly $30,000 in bounced checks, Robison said.

Fairtlough said Kim ran a legitimate, high-end computer sales company for about two years, but stopped shipping merchandise in April 2002. CalvinAuctions.com was shut down last July, at the end of a probe by the Southern California High Tech Task Force. Kim was arrested last December.