A Bay Area man, Jeffrey Ying, has been accused of stealing rare Chinese manuscripts valued at $216,000 from the UCLA library. Using three fake aliases over a potential five-year period, Ying checked out valuable manuscripts, sometimes dating back to the 13th century. He abused a system allowing users to request library cards without official ID, replacing original manuscripts with 'dummy books.' Ying was arrested as he allegedly attempted to flee to China and faces a felony charge punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.
Ying used three fake names to check out valuable antique manuscripts from UCLA, allegedly stealing up to 10 manuscripts valued at $216,000 over five years.
The FBI affidavit details how Ying exploited a new library system, allowing users to rent books without showing official ID, to carry out the theft.
Ying would return 'dummy books', often blank or low-value manuscripts, in place of the actual manuscripts he stole.
Since 2020, Ying requested rare books from UCLA's Southern Regional Library Facility, replacing them with fakes after reviewing them.
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