Filed Under: Jail Jewels….
Jacob Arabov – otherwise known as “Jacob the Jeweler” – was sentenced Tuesday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for lying to
investigators
looking into a multistate drug ring, reports Yahoo! News. The 43-year-old businessman pleaded guilty last October to falsifying records and giving false statements as part of a deal with federal
prosecutors.
A Judge, who lessened Arabov’s sentence in light of the New York man’s extensive charity work, also ordered the Russian immigrant to pay a $50,000 fine and to make a $2 million forfeiture payment to the government.
“I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me,” Arabov said. “I will carry this shame for the rest of my life.”
Arabov was arrested in 2006 at his Manhattan jewelry shop. Authorities accused him and others of conspiring to launder about $270 million in drug profits for the “Black Mafia Family,” which operated out of the Detroit area beginning in the early 1990s. Prosecutors dropped the money laundering charges in the plea deal. A seven-year investigation resulted in the indictments of Arabov and at least 41 other people, federal authorities say. According to reports, about 1,100 pounds of cocaine and $19 million in cash and other assets were seized beginning in 2000. Arabov has been called the “King of Bling” and has been mentioned in various Hip-Hop and R&B songs from artists like Kanye West and Jay Z. The jeweler is scheduled to report to prison January 15, 2009.
