Federal prosecutors say a Gates man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
They say 42-year-old Shabon Banks was involved in a theft ring that collected stolen merchandise and sold it through the New York Gold Diamond Pawn Shop.
Banks and other thieves stole new, in-the-box merchandise from area stores and turned it over to the pawn shop operators for cash.
They were paid $290,000 of which Banks has been ordered to pay back about $93,000.
The other thieves and the two pawn shop operators, Dominic Sprauge and James Civiletti, were previously convicted.