A woman who conspired with her husband and a friend to steal nearly $600,000 worth of gold from South Asian families in Northern Virginia will serve three years in prison.
Melinda M. Soto, 34, of Bronx, N.Y., was sentenced Friday in federal court in Alexandria. She was also ordered to pay $590,860 in restitution.
Soto and her husband, Dagoberto Ramirez-Soto, pleaded guilty to the burglaries in September. The couple, along with Francisco Gray, burglarized the homes of 37 South Asian families in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, according to court records. The trio stole gold jewelry and coins, then transported the items back to New York, where they sold them.
The thefts occurred between January and November 2009.
Ramirez-Soto is scheduled to be sentenced in January. Gray was deported to Peru before federal authorities began investigating the case, prosecutors said.
