A man who conspired with his wife to steal nearly $600,000 in gold and other valuable items from 37 Northern Virginia homes was sentenced Friday to 3 years and 10 months months in prison.

Prosecutors said 28-year-old Dagoberto Ramirez-Soto, of Bronx, N.Y., with his wife, Melinda M. Soto, and Francisco Gray burglarized homes belong to South Asians because they believed the families had large amounts of gold jewelry. They then took the items back to New York and sold them.

Ramirez-Soto was also ordered to pay $590,860 in restitution.

The thefts occurred between January and November 2009.

Soto was sentenced to three years in prison in December. The couple pleaded guilty in September. Prosecutors said Gray was deported to Peru before federal authorities began investigating the case.