DETROIT, MI -- A man who authorities say has been taking advantage of drug-addicted prostitutes to help him rob banks for the past 20 years was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison on Thursday.

Arthur Payton, 45, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1994 as a "bank robbing pimp," according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

He was convicted in federal court twice before for robbing banks with the help of addicted prostitutes, once in San Diego in 1994 and again in Detroit in 2004.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in each of those cases, according to court records.

A jury found him guilty for the third time in November 2012 after a co-defendant used a hidden recording device to help the FBI catch him planning another robbery.

"This lengthy sentence was necessary because prison is the only thing that prevents him from robbing banks," said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade in a news release.

The latest conviction stemmed from a series of robberies in October and November 2011.

A Charter One Bank branch in Farmington, a Bank of America branch in Livonia, a Flagstar Bank in Novi and a Citizens Bank in Farmington Hills were each robbed of cash totaling $8,910, according to federal court records.

In each robbery, a woman wearing various wigs handed notes to tellers, each time demanding $20, $50 and $100 bills with no dye packs, accusing the bank of taking away her home and instructing that the note be handed back, court records show.

Police identified 33-year-old Nancy Barta as a suspect in December 2011, and a thumb print found on a pair of sunglasses recovered by Farmington Hills police at the Citizens Bank robbery was a match.

Facing separate charges at the time, Barta confessed to the robberies and implicated Payton, telling the FBI that he wrote the notes, dropped her off about a block away from each bank and met with her later, taking the money and paying her $500 to $1,000 for each job.

Barta was released from custody after agreeing to use a hidden recording device to build evidence against Payton, court records show.

She recorded him recounting the four previous robberies and planning more heists at banks near Campus Martius Park in Detroit, including Charter One Bank on Woodward Avenue.

Payton was convicted of four counts of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Barta pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and was sentenced to 2 years, 7 months in prison, according to court records.

"This defendant has returned to the same criminal scheme each time he has

been released from prison," McQuade said, "preying on vulnerable women at the fringes of society to rob banks."

Read the court document detailing the FBI's investigation here.

Follow Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.