"Jacob the Jeweler" Jacob Arabov Sentenced Two Years in Jail

Jacob Arabov, the famed jeweler known as Jacob the Jeweler, was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for lying to investigators about a multistate drug ring on Tuesday.

Arabov, 43, pleaded guilty in October to falsifying records and giving false statements as part of a deal with federal prosecutors.

"I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me," Arabov said, according to Associated Press news reports. "I will carry this shame for the rest of my life."

The plea deal called for a recommended sentence of three years, one month to three years, 10 months in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn minimized seven months off the minimum term, citing Arabov's philanthropic work and noting many letters of support.

Arabov remains free on bond and report to prison Jan. 15.

Arabov was fined $50,000 and was ordered to make a $2 million forfeiture payment to the government, which was paid to an Internal Revenue Service agent via cashier's check by a defense attorney.

Arabov, an immigrant from Soviet Uzbekistan, was arrested in 2006 on accusations that he and others conspired to launder about $270 million in drug profits for the "Black Mafia Family", an extensive drug ring that operated from Detroit between 1990 and 2005.

Prosecutors dropped the money laundering charges in the plea deal. They say "Jacob the Jeweler" tried to hide the ownership of part of $5 million worth of seized jewelry.

The seven-year investigation resulted in the indictments more than 100 people nationwide, federal authorities say. About 1,100 pounds of cocaine and $19 million in cash, cars and jewelry were seized beginning in 2000.

The leaders of "Black Mafia Family," also known as BMF, brothers Terry and Demetrius Flenory, pleaded guilty last year and are awaiting sentencing.

"Jacob the Jeweler", also known as "King of Bling", was the jeweler for some of hip-hop's biggest acts in the mid-1990's, including Jay-Z, Kanye West, 50 Cent and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

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