A daring jewel thief, wanted for crimes spanning from Florida to South Korea, has allegedly struck again. This time he’s accused of a diamond ring worth a staggering $255,000 from a Tiffany store in New York’s iconic Rockefeller Center.
According to the prosecutor, the audacious theft took place on March 4 and involved the suspect, 49-year-old Yaorong Wan, cleverly switching the genuine ring with a cubic zirconia replica.
According to the criminal complaint filed by the district attorney’s office, Wan asked a Tiffany employee to show him several pieces of jewelry, including the quarter-million-dollar ring. After examining the items, Wan left reportedly the store without making a purchase, and the employee returned the ring to the display case. However, a week later, during a routine inventory check, Tiffany staff discovered that the precious diamond ring had been replaced with a fake, according to the complaint.
Police detectives reviewing the store’s surveillance footage observed Wan deftly slipping the genuine ring into his palm and replacing it with the counterfeit. This was not Wan’s only alleged crime in the area; he is also charged with stealing a $25,000 diamond ring from a Cartier store in the Hudson Yards complex on March 12. In this instance, Wan simply pocketed the ring without leaving a replica behind.
Wan’s crime spree came to an end on Friday when he was arrested and arraigned in Manhattan criminal court on grand larceny charges. However, his legal troubles extend far beyond New York. Assistant District Attorney Eliana Ramelson revealed that Wan has open arrest warrants in New Jersey and Nassau County on Long Island, and is a suspect in thefts from Cartier stores in California and Florida. Moreover, he is wanted in South Korea for allegedly stealing from high-end jewelry stores.
As the case unfolds, Wan’s attorney, Amanda Barfield of New York County Defender Services, has declined to comment on the matter.
The suspect’s reputation — and his alleged brazenness — have captured the attention of both law enforcement and the public alike.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.