A thief who steals jewelry all over the world is caught after a diamond ring heist in the style of Ocean’s 11 in New York City.
Yawrong Wan, 49, was arrested in Queens on Friday after allegedly stealing $300,000 worth of rings from Cartier and Tiffany stores in Manhattan.
According to the New York Post, the arrest ended Wan’s years-long criminal career that took him around the world from South Korea to Beverly Hills.
The criminal complaint states that their string of thefts began in September 2018 when they stole a $330,000 diamond ring from a Tiffany’s store in Seoul.
According to the New York Post, in December of last year, he allegedly stole a $48,000 diamond ring and a $10,000 watch from the Cartier store in Beverly Hills.
Vaughn stole a $255,000 diamond ring from Tiffany again in New York in March of this year.
Court documents allege that after entering the store at 3:00 p.m. on March 4, he inquired about various pieces of jewelry from the woman behind the counter and managed to replace the diamond ring with another band and the woman. Couldn’t find out.
The assistant showed some jewelry and Vaughn allegedly picked up a $255,000 ring, looked at it and walked out of the store, a criminal complaint said.
The store later discovered that the ring returned to the assistant was not the one that had been given.
The complaint states that Vaughn replaced the real diamond ring with a fake cubic zirconia stone set on 18-karat white gold.
When investigators viewed the footage from that day, they saw the defendant examining the real ring – a natural diamond mounted on platinum – and then allegedly sliding it into his palm and holding the fake ring. took off
Investigators reviewed footage from that day and saw the defendant examining the real ring, which was a natural diamond set in engraved platinum. They claim that he then skillfully transferred it to his palm and replaced it with a fake one.
Store employees said they took a picture of the fake the next day and noticed there were no engravings or markings on it.
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Investigators say Vaughn allegedly performed a similar stunt eight days later at a Cartier store in New York.
Vaughn allegedly entered around 1:30 p.m. and asked to see two engagement rings and two watches.
According to the complaint, the employee handed her the diamond rings and then she got distracted.
Vaughn allegedly returned one of the rings, but pocketed the other ring, worth about $25,000, before leaving.
He then went to Miami, where he stole a $16,000 watch from a Cartier store on March 24, according to a New York Post report.
The criminal complaint alleges that Vaughan also stole two watches valued at $17,000 last month from the Hermes store at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and a watch from London Jewelers in Manhasset, Long Island.
Investigators in the Long Island case say Vaughn was looking at watches when he slipped the Chopard watch into his left jacket pocket.
They then walked past the cash counters and out the door, according to the complaint.
According to police, when Vaughn was arrested, he was allegedly in possession of three watches that he had stolen in Manhasset and New Jersey, as well as fake stones that he used to exchange for real gems. .
He pleaded not guilty during his court appearance on Saturday, according to online records.
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2024-07-25 08:50:18
