New York ( CNN ) -- The street artist who created the iconic red , white and blue Obama `` Hope '' posters in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election was sentenced Friday to two years ' probation after tampering with evidence , prosecutors said . Shepard Fairey pleaded guilty in February to criminal contempt of court for falsifying and destroying documents and coaching a witness while embroiled in a copyright infringement battle over his use of a now-famous image by The Associated Press that featured then-Sen. Barack Obama . Fairey was ordered to pay $ 25,000 in fines in a dispute that dates back to 2009 , when he brought a federal lawsuit against AP , claiming that he was entitled to use the image under the fair use doctrine , according to a statement by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York . The guidelines are a copyright exception allowing reproductions in specific instances of news reporting , commentary , teaching and other situations . `` I accept full responsibility for violating the court 's trust by tampering with evidence during my civil case with ( The ) Associated Press , which , after my admitting to engaging in this conduct , led to this criminal case by the Southern District of New York , '' Fairey said in a written statement . `` I accept the judge 's sentence and look forward to finally putting this episode behind me . '' Federal prosecutors said Fairey , 42 , lied about which AP image of Obama he used as inspiration for the posters , which were stamped with the words `` Hope '' and `` Progress . '' `` After spending a great amount of time , energy and legal effort , all of us at The Associated Press are glad this matter is finally behind us , '' said AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt . `` We hope this case will serve as a clear reminder to all of the importance of fair compensation for those who gather and produce original news content . '' In his civil complaint , Fairey claimed to have used a photo taken of Obama and actor George Clooney by an AP photographer in 2006 , though he actually used a different AP image -- a close-up of the current president , prosecutors said . The federal court found Fairey had both destroyed documents that would prove that he had not used the photo of Obama and Clooney , and created false ones in an attempt to back the claims he made in his complaint . `` My wrong-headed actions , born out of a moment of fear and embarrassment , have not only been financially and psychologically costly to myself and my family , but also helped to obscure what I was fighting for in the first place -- the ability of artists everywhere to be inspired and freely create art without reprisal , '' Fairey said . According to court documents , Fairey and AP settled the civil suit in January 2011 for $ 1.6 million .
Shepard Fairey pleaded guilty to criminal contempt of court in February . He also was ordered on probation to pay $ 25,000 in fines in a lawsuit that dated to 2009 . In his civil suit , Fairey claimed to have used a picture of Obama and George Clooney .