An Alameda County man found himself in hot water after being charged with the theft of valuable Chinese manuscripts from a university library system, according to a federal criminal complaint announced by the Justice Department. Identified as Jeffrey Ying, 38, who also goes by various aliases such as "Jason Wang," "Alan Fujimori," and "Austin Chen," he now faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted on the felony charge of stealing major artwork.
Currently in state custody, Ying is expected to make an appearance in the United States District Court in Los Angeles soon. It is alleged, between December 2024 to July 2025, that he masterminded the stealing of manuscripts, valued at approximately $216,000, from the library by swapping them out with forgeries, the Justice Department reports. His modus operandi involved renting the rare items, supposedly taking them home, and then returning dummy copies in their stead, making his way to China within days of the thefts.
The library staff became aware of the absent rare Chinese manuscripts upon noticing discrepancies, initiating an inquiry that led to the realization that the books were last viewed by someone using the name "Alan Fujimori." Given their scarcity and significance, these manuscripts are not part of the regular circulation and require special reservation procedures for handling.
Further investigation unravelled the deception when authorities searched a Brentwood hotel room used by Ying. They discovered blank manuscripts and detailed paperwork akin to those of the stolen items, along with ready-made asset tags that could be used to manufacture more "dummy" books for the library's inventory. Upon his arrest on Monday, they found him in possession of a fake California ID card under the name "Austin Chen" and two library cards bearing the names "Austin Chen" and "Jason Wang."
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, as stipulated in the criminal complaint. The FBI’s Art Crime Team, with assistance from the UCLA Police Department, is at the helm of this investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark A. Williams of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, as confirmed by the office of Ciaran McEvoy, Public Information Officer for the Justice Department.
