2 Diamond Dealers Get Prison in Fake New York City Heist

Two diamond dealers will spend more than a year in prison after being convicted of staging a heist in hopes of snaring insurance money to save their failing New York City business.

Mahaveer Kankariya and Atul Shah were sentenced Friday to 20 months to five years behind bars. The range reflects the possibility of parole.

The 49-year-old Shah sobbed as he told a judge he “will carry the sin of this case” for the rest of his life. Kankariya’s lawyer says his 45-year-old client is “enormously remorseful.”

Authorities say Shah and Kankariya arranged to have two supposed robbers descend on the shop on New Year’s Eve 2008. They claimed the robbers made off with millions of dollars’ worth of gems.