Living Essentials Marketing LLC, the makers of 5-Hour Energy drinks, spent nearly $3.5 million tirelessly tracking down, bottle by bottle, a large counterfeiting ring that was producing and selling fake drinks in 2011 and 2012.

The Farmington Hills, Michigan-based company's efforts paid off.

Last week, the U.S. Federal District Court in San Jose sentenced a key defendant to seven years in prison as part of the first-ever U.S. criminal prosecution of a food or beverage counterfeiting operation.