SAN FRANCISCO—A businessman who went on the lam after being convicted in an elaborate multimillion-dollar condominium fraud case in San Francisco was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison.

The sentencing of Jay Shah, according to district attorney George Gascon, was one of the most severe punishments in the history of his office's white-collar division.

"We are sending a message that white-collar crime is a top priority for this office and will be prosecuted aggressively," Gascon told reporters.

Shah, 48, and four co-conspirators were convicted last year for their brazen scheme, which took control of a woman's three luxury condominiums in San Francisco's tony One Rincon Hill high-rise.

Led by Shah, the conspirators used fake identities and took out loans against the properties and laundered the money through shell companies. The condos were valued at $5.5 million.

"(They were) very sophisticated in what they did," Gascon told reporters.

In September, a jury convicted Shah, who was found guilty of 13 felony counts, including grand theft, money laundering, forgery, filing forged documents, and conspiracy.

San Francisco Judge Charlene Kieselbach then issued a warrant for Shah's arrest after he apparently went on the lam and forfeited his $1 million bail. Shah was eventually taken into custody after being caught a Days Inn in Watsonville, Calif., in October.

On Tuesday, Kieselbach also ordered Shah to pay a $14.1 million fine—nearly triple the amount taken in the scheme. As a result of being convicted for a white-collar crime, Shah also receives a strike under California's Three Strikes law.

Also Tuesday, co-conspirator Winston Lum was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison and fined $4.4 million.

Jurors found Lum, 48, guilty of six felonies, including grand theft, identity theft, and procuring or offering false or forged instruments for record.

A third defendant, Kaushal Niroula, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing a man in an unrelated incident in Riverside County.

A jury hung on charges against a fourth defendant, Melvin Emerich, and a fifth defendant, Grachelle Languban, remains a fugitive at large, prosecutors say.