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3w ago

Bay Area Man Faces Federal Charges Over Theft of $216,000 in Rare Chinese Manuscripts

Accused of swapping authentic centuries-old manuscripts for counterfeits under multiple aliases, he is awaiting his initial federal court appearance.

UCLA's Police Department is assisting federal authorities with the investigation of Jeffrey Ying, a Bay Area man accused of stealing $216,000 in rare Chinese manuscripts from the university library system.
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Chinese manuscripts can include thousands of characters created by skilled artists using special brushes
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Overview

  • Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint on August 7 charging Jeffrey Ying with theft of major artwork, a felony carrying up to ten years in prison.
  • Investigators allege that between December 2024 and July 2025 he checked out prized manuscripts from UCLA, returned forgeries in their place, and then traveled to China.
  • A search of his Brentwood hotel room uncovered blank manuscripts, pre-made asset tags, and paperwork matching the stolen volumes.
  • Authorities say Ying used at least three aliases—Jason Wang, Alan Fujimori, and Austin Chen—to borrow the works and possessed multiple fraudulent identification cards.
  • The FBI Art Crime Team is leading the probe with support from the UCLA Police Department as Ying remains in state custody awaiting his first court appearance.