International jewelry thief accused of stealing rings worth nearly $300K from Tiffany, Cartier

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) --- An international jewelry thief sought by Interpol is accused of swiping two diamond rings worth close to $300,000 from Tiffany and Cartier stores in Manhattan, authorities said.

Interpol was looking for Yaorong Wan, 49, in connection to an alleged theft in South Korea, officials said. The suspect has also been linked to thefts from Cartier stores in California and Miami before he was recently busted in the Manhattan heists, authorities said.

Wan allegedly swapped a $255,000 ring with a dupe while browsing at the Tiffany & Co. store in Midtown on March 4, according to the criminal complaint. The thief allegedly asked the store worker to look at an engraved platinum ring before he replaced it with the cubic zirconia mounted in an 18-carat white gold ring, prosecutors said.

Wan was allegedly caught on surveillance video putting the real ring in his palm before making the switch. The store noticed the swap about a week later.

After the Tiffany heist, Wan asked to see two engagement rings before allegedly stealing a $25,000 ring from Cartier at Hudson Yards on March 12, according to the complaint.

Wan was arrested Friday and charged with grand larceny in the Manhattan case. He pleaded not guilty and was released without bail during his arrangement on Saturday, according to court records.

The charges were not bail-eligible and the judge ordered supervised release, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Wan is accused of a similar theft at a Long Island jewelry store on April 19, officials said. The suspect allegedly stole a $17,800 Chopard watch from London Jewelers, according to the Daily News.

In the Long Island case, Wan pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $500,000 cash/$1 million bond, according to court records.

Wan is also a suspect in jewelry thefts in New Jersey, officials said.

Wan's attorney could not be immediately reached on Monday.