The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Hector Rivera was sentenced today to 32 years in prison for leading a robbery and extortion crew that targeted diamond businesses and shipments from the Diamond District in midtown Manhattan.

Rivera was also ordered to pay $2.93 million in fines and damages. According to court documents, Rivera was the leader of a robbery and extortion crew that operated primarily in the Diamond District in midtown Manhattan, between 2003 and 2009.

He was found guilty of four counts of robbery, after prosecutors proved he was personally involved in at least four diamond and gem robberies which took place in 2005, 2007 and 2008. He was also found guilty of two counts of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Rivera was convicted under the Hobbs Act, which prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. As such, each of the counts he was convicted for carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.