This week New York businessman Jacob Arabo (Born Yakov Arabov) and known in the hip-hop world as “Jacob the Jeweler” was sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators looking into a multistate drug ring. In October Arabo pleaded guilty to falsifying records and giving false statements as part of a deal with federal prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn was asked to impose a minimum sentence of three years and one month. However Cohn decided to reduce the sentence by seven months, citing Arabo’s extensive charity work. Judge Cohn also ordered the Russian immigrant to pay a $50,000 fine and to make a $2 million forfeiture payment to the government.Arabo was arrested in 2006 at his
Manhattan jewelry shop. Authorities accused him and others of conspiring to launder somewhere near $300 million in drug profits. ”I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me,” Arabo said. “I will carry this shame for the rest of my life.”
Prosecutors dropped the money laundering charges in the plea deal. Authorities accused Arabo and others of conspiring to launder drug profits for the “Black Mafia Family,” a ring that operated out of the
Detroit area beginning in the early 1990s. “Jacob the Jeweler” is most commonly known as the Jeweler to a growing list of Celebrities including Rappers, Athletes, and Movie Stars with Hip Hop and Fashion Mogul, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs being one of his most notable clients.
