By rssfeeds-admin The suspect, 38-year-old Jeffrey Ying of Fremont, faces a felony charge for stealing major artwork. If convicted, Ying faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
“From December 2024 to July 2025, Ying stole the rare manuscripts from the university’s library,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, citing an affidavit in the case. “Ying rented the manuscripts, brought them home for days at a time, then returned a dummy manuscript instead of the authentic one. He typically then traveled to and from China within several days of the thefts.”
An investigation began when the university library noticed that several rare Chinese manuscripts were missing. The university determined that the books were last viewed by a visitor using the name “Alan Fujimori.”
“Due to the rarity and value of the books, they are not in regular circulation in the library and must be reserved and checked out,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “Law enforcement searched Ying’s Brentwood hotel room and found blank manuscripts and paperwork in the style and manner of the books that Ying had checked out from the university. Law enforcement also found pre-made labels known as asset tags associated with the same manuscripts that could be used to create “dummy” books to return to the library in place of the original books.”
The federal prosecutors did not say what university was targeted by the thefts. However, they noted that the UCLA Police Department is aiding in the investigation.
Ying was arrested on Monday. During his arrest investigators allegedly found a fraudulent California ID with the name of “Austin Chen.” They also found two library cards using the names “Austin Chen” and “Jason Wang.”
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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