International thief guilty of stealing $260K diamond rings in global crime spree

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A globetrotting burglar’s long-lasting crime spree finally concluded when they admitted guilt in a New York City court for swiping more than $260,000 worth of diamond rings from high-end stores by employing trickery and counterfeit jewels.

50-year-old Yaorong Wan, hailing from Queens, confessed to masterminding luxury heists at Tiffany & Co. and Cartier in New York City. This concluded an extensive series of thefts across numerous nations and U.S. states.

According to the New York Post, on June 23, Wan confessed in a Manhattan Supreme Court to swindling from the renowned Tiffany’s main store and the Cartier outlet situated at Hudson Yards.

Wan had many tricks at his disposal that seemed ripped right out of Now You See Me or Ocean’s 11.

Global criminal caught after years of high-profile thefts

Last year, as stated by the prosecution, Wan went to Tiffany’s and requested to see several rings on display. While being shown the genuine $225,000 platinum-set diamond ring, he exchanged it with a nearly identical cubic zirconia imitation. He then departed the store without buying anything, unbeknownst to the staff until it was too late.

At Cartier, Wan employed a tactic remarkably like another’s. He carefully observed two engagement rings and two luxury watches, then, when the salesperson was momentarily distracted, he stealthily slipped one of the rings into his pocket. The investigators referred to this method as an intricate blend of deft hand movements and diversion, much like a magician’s sleight of hand, with the added element of using counterfeit jewelry for strategy.

The accused individual employed trickery and misdirection to swipe expensive jewelry totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated this. With joint efforts from various law enforcement teams, we’ve successfully dismantled his international theft network.

Wan’s past reaches further than just New York. Prior to his time there, he was sought by Interpol due to a diamond heist worth $330,000 in South Korea in 2018. He is said to have stolen a valuable piece from a shop in Seoul. Additionally, he has been linked to jewelry thefts of similar nature in New Jersey, California, and Florida.

In May 2024, a multi-agency task force consisting of the NYPD, Nassau County Police, and US Marshals managed to apprehend him at his residence in Flushing, Queens. At this location, they found and confiscated several items that had been stolen previously, among them a $17,000 Chopard watch which had been reported as missing from a jewelry store on Long Island.

On July 14, Wan will receive a sentence, potentially facing a term of imprisonment ranging from three to nine years in a New York state correctional facility. Additionally, there are active arrest warrants for Wan in various legal districts.

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2025-06-24 21:18