A Frankfort man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for running a fencing operation from his Crestwood business that peddled high-end electronic devices, such as laptop computers, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Ziad Zayed, 49, was also ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution.

He had initially been charged in a criminal complaint in October 2021 in U.S. court in Chicago, which was followed by a superseding indictment in May 2022 with conspiracy to transport stolen merchandise.

Zayed pleaded guilty to the single count on May 8, 2023.

Authorities said Zayed’s business, Crestwood Electronics, 13314 Cicero Ave., does business in electronics such as repairing cracked cellphone screens, but was also a hub for buying, repackaging and reselling electronics including laptop computers, gaming systems, digital cameras and other devices.

Authorities said in charging Zayed that Crestwood Electronics knowingly purchased stolen electronic devices, repackaged the items, and sold them to buyers out of state and overseas.

Some of the merchandise was stolen from freight trains in suburban Chicago, or purchased by co-conspirators using stolen identities and making fraudulent credit card purchases, according to the government.

Some of the merchandise taken from trains and resold included hair dryers, vacuum cleaners and fitness watches, authorities said.

Zayed was sentenced to a term of 2 years and 4 months on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.

He is supposed to report to prison by Dec. 6, according to a court filing. After his release, Zayed will serve two years’ probation.

An FBI affidavit indicates an undercover agent made transactions at the Crestwood store, and that Zayed and his brother, Mosas Zayed, agreed to purchase electronics “after being explicitly told” the goods were stolen.

Mosas Zayed was also charged, but following a jury trial this past April he was acquitted of two charges with prosecutors dropping the conspiracy charge, according to a court filing.

In a recent court filing, the government said it would move to seize $581,000 in cash as well as electronics recovered in the case.

Prosecutors said the forfeiture includes electronics taken by investigators at the Crestwood store and two locations in Frankfort. Cash was recovered from the store, a Frankfort address and a 2021 Ford Explorer.

Ziad Zayed’s attorneys had sought a prison term of one year, telling the judge the man is a husband and father “who has spent his entire life working for the betterment and care of his family.”

Prosecutors said Zayed was able “to pay pennies on the dollar” for the stolen merchandise, then made “a handsome profit by selling the stolen merchandise for a fraction of its retail value.”