Jewel Thief Wanted By Interpol Is Busted After Pricey NYC Robberies, D.A. Says
Yaorong Wan has pilfered stores in locales ranging from Miami to South Korea, the authorities said. Prosecutors now claim that he snagged two rings, which cumulatively cost nearly $300,000, from Tiffany’s and Cartier stores in Manhattan. After being granted supervised release, he was taken into custody in connection with a Nassau County arrest warrant.
| 07 May 2024 | 02:01
The Tiffany’s on Fifth Ave. was targeted by a jewelry thief in early March. Now, a man wanted by Interpol in connection with a slew of heists has been arrested and charged with the robbery. (
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A man said to be an international jewel thief has been arrested in connection with two Manhattan heists, which occurred this March: one at Tiffany’s Rockefeller Center location on Fifth Ave., and one at a Cartier store in Hudson Yards.
Yaorong Wan, 49, was also being sought by Interpol under a “Red Notice” warrant; he is a “prime suspect” in high-end jewelry robberies that have hit South Korea, Miami, California, Nassau County, and New Jersey. He used the alternative name of “Wen San” to evade detection while traveling, prosecutors with the Manhattan D.A.’s office said, and was nabbed under that name in Gramercy Park on May 3.
Wan was charged with grand larceny for the NYC heists and placed on supervised release, only to be shuttled to Nassau County in connection with a warrant there. He was held on $500,000 cash bail or a $1 million bond.
Prosecutors said Wan walked into Tiffany’s on March 4 and asked to examine a $255,000 ring, which contained a “natural diamond mounted in platinum.” A woman working there let him look it over. During the exchange, prosecutors say that Wan slipped the ring into his palm, replacing it with a counterfeit ring.
He then allegedly gave the latter ring, which contained a “cubic zirconia stone” mounted in “18 carat white gold,” back to the woman behind the desk. Nobody noticed that the replacement ring was fake, and lacked the special hallmarking and engraving present on the “genuine” ring, until March 11. It also lacked the correct SKU (stock-keeping unit) number used to identity the $255,000 ring, prosecutors say.
On March 12, Wan struck the Cartier shop at 20 Hudson Yards, prosecutors said. He asked to view two engagement rings and two watches. An employee let him view the rings. This employee then became “distracted,” prosecutors claim, and failed to notice when Wan allegedly only handed back one of the rings. The other, worth $25,000, reportedly ended up in his pocket. He supposedly left the store shortly thereafter.
In neither instance did Wan officially purchase anything, the D.A.’s office said, although they were able to obtain surveillance footage that they claim depicts the Tiffany’s robbery.
A defense attorney for Wan did not return comment as of press time.