A man from the San Francisco Bay Area has been charged with stealing rare and historical Chinese manuscripts valued at approximately $216,000 from a university library system, according to an announcement by the Justice Department.
Jeffrey Ying, 38, who also used the names “Jason Wang,” “Alan Fujimori,” and “Austin Chen,” faces a felony charge of theft of major artwork. The offense carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison. Ying is currently in state custody and is expected to make his first appearance soon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Ying allegedly stole the manuscripts between December 2024 and July 2025. He reportedly checked out the rare materials under reservation policies that restrict their circulation, took them home for several days, and then returned fake manuscripts instead of the originals. Authorities allege that he traveled to China within days after committing some of these thefts.
Library staff discovered several missing items after noting that they were last handled by someone identifying as “Alan Fujimori.” During a search of Ying’s Brentwood hotel room, law enforcement officers found blank manuscripts and paperwork resembling those checked out from the university. They also recovered pre-made asset tags associated with the same manuscripts, which could be used to create dummy books for returning to the library.
Upon arresting Ying on Monday, authorities found a fraudulent California identification card bearing the name “Austin Chen” as well as two library cards under the names “Austin Chen” and “Jason Wang.”
“A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
The FBI’s Art Crime Team is leading the investigation with assistance from the UCLA Police Department.
“Assistant United States Attorney Mark A. Williams of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section is prosecuting this case.”
