Associated Press - January 22, 2010 2:34 PM ET

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A ringleader of a $1.5 million identity-theft ring that ensnared Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his wife among its victims has been sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison.

Forty-9-year-old Leonardo Zanders of Dolton, Ill., was also ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution.

Zanders would pay others to pickpocket and steal ID and bank account information from victims. He would then use the information to make fake IDs and withdraw money from victims' accounts.

At least 10 financial institutions were victimized by the scheme.

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