Photo: Bloomberg
An international jewel thief was arrested about two months after he made off with a $250,000 diamond ring from Tiffany and Co. in New York City.
Authorities said that 49-year-old Yaorong Wan went into the high-end jewelry store on March 4 and asked to view the diamond rings. An employee pulled several out of the display case to show Wan. While he was inspecting the rings, he allegedly swapped the $250,000 ring with a fake one he had in his pocket.
He then left without purchasing anything, and the employee put the ring back in the display case. The fake ring was discovered a week later during a routine inventory.
Wan allegedly struck again a week later, stealing a $25,000 diamond ring from a Cartier store in New York City.
On Friday (May 3), authorities finally caught up with Wan and took him into custody. He was charged with two counts of grand larceny in New York and arraigned on a grand larceny charge in Nassau County for allegedly stealing from a jewelry store on Long Island.
There are open warrants for Wan in connection with jewelry store thefts in California and Florida. He is also wanted in South Korea and is the subject of a Red Notice from Interpol.