(KTLA) A 38-year-old man from the Bay Area, who went by at least three aliases, managed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rare historical Chinese manuscripts dating back to the 13th century from the University of California, Los Angeles’ library, federal officials announced.
In a U.S. Department of Justice news release, federal prosecutors allege that Jeffrey Ying, who also went by the names Jason Wang, Alan Fujimori and Austin Cheng, stole the manuscripts between December 2024 and July 2025.
Because of their value and rarity, UCLA does not keep the books in regular circulation, requiring a reservation to check them out.
The 38-year-old, a resident of Fremont, a city some 20 miles north of San Jose, reportedly took advantage of a relatively new system at the library where users can apply for library cards and rent books without having to show official identification, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Ying allegedly checked out the manuscripts in groups and would then reportedly return “dummy books,” sometimes low-value Chinese manuscripts or blank books containing labels printed with a computer with tags meant to appear like that of the authentic books.
UCLA officials were alerted to some of the missing books by the head of the university’s East Asian Library. Library policy, The Times reported, requires a staff member to be present in the reading room while someone reads books from special collections.
There were, however, no specific rules around reviewing rare books returned to the library to ensure their authenticity.
Ying would then reportedly place “dummy books” in a box taken to a reading room in UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library and leave with the originals.
While the arrest and FBI affidavit reviewed by The Times focuses primarily on thefts last year, it is believed that Ying may have been stealing valuable manuscripts as far back as 2020 and may be responsible for stealing at least 10 missing manuscripts valued between $274 and $70,000.
Six books were checked out under the alias Jason Wang, while on Aug. 5 of this year another eight were requested under the name Austin Chen. Yet another one of Ying’s alleged aliases, Alan Fujimori, was reportedly associated with similar thefts from U.C. Berkeley library.
Ultimately, according to The Times, it was surveillance footage analysis that tied the aliases to Ying.
Federal investigators also say the 38-year-old regularly traveled to China just days after the alleged thefts, likely in an attempt to sell the books or to simply get them out of the United States.
Ying was arrested Aug. 6 as he was attempting to leave for China, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators found a fake California ID under the name Austin Chen and two library cards using the names Austin Chen and Jason Wang in his Brentwood hotel room.
He has since been charged with theft of major artwork, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. Considered a flight risk, Ying remains in state custody and is due to appear in U.S. District Court in L.A. in the coming days.
The official number of rare and valuable manuscripts the 38-year-old may have stolen is unknown and, at least so far, it does not appear as if authorities have recovered them.
