A burglar in Los Angeles has earned the nickname ‘the most tasteful thief’ due to his penchant for stealing high-end vintage furniture and luxury items from influencers.
Zack Vincler, 36, has been found guilty of burglary and identity theft following a series of thefts. However, several store owners and TikTok personalities claim he has made off with numerous other expensive goods.
Paul Bearman, the proprietor of Merit, a boutique selling upscale vintage furniture, shared with NBC News that he has suspected Vincler of targeting his business for years.
In November 2022, Bearman was duped by a fraudulent payment for a 50-year-old Ligne Roset Togo sofa, valued at $7,800. He only realized the payment was bogus after the item had already been collected by shippers.
“In my decade of business, I’ve never encountered credit card fraud,” he revealed. “There was something especially unusual about this case.”
Bearman soon crossed paths with Amanda Hallberg, the owner of Modern Conscience, a furniture restoration company. Hallberg reported being conned out of two Eames chairs: one from the 1960s worth $2,300 and another from the 1950s valued at $684.
Hallberg tracked down the chairs to Vincler’s address in LA and created a page on her website called ‘Stolen by Zack Vincler.’
The two business owners traded information, and when Bearman received another order for a Togo sofa, he decided to confront Vincler.
Business owners and influencers have accused Zack Vincler, 36, of stealing expensive vintage furniture and designer items
Vincler took a plea deal for a series of burglaries that included stealing a couch from a furniture store
‘I opened the door and I just kind of pushed him to the side with my arm,’ Bearman told NBC. ‘I pull out my phone. I just started recording.’
However, when police arrived, Bearman was told to leave, and Vincler was not arrested.
Then, in April 2023, a $58,000 couch was stolen from Bearman’s store.
Surveillance footage showed the massive 21-piece Mah Jong sofa by Roche Bobois being taken from Merit.
Just eight days later, Bearman said there was a second theft at his store. This time, the burglar took a 1920s-era Goyard trunk worth $32,000, a Gucci snakeskin desk set valued at $4,800 and a cast aluminum chair by Pierre Guariche priced at $3,500.
Finally, Vincler was arrested and charged with three counts of commercial burglary, and prosecutors said the same day he stole the $58,000 couch, he also robbed a furniture store in Beverly Hills.
He was released on a $60,000 bond on May 4, 2023, but just a month later, influencer Emily Ober said her home was broken into, and a burglar snagged a set of rare Pierre Paulin Elysee floor lamps, worth $10,000 each, as well as five designer chairs, police said.
She shared surveillance footage with the Los Angeles Police Department, and it landed on the desk of the detective who previously investigated Vincler, according to NBC News.
TikTok star Victoria Paris believes Vincler was responsible for stealing $15,000 worth of deisgner goods from her LA home
The couch was a massive 21-piece Mah Jong sofa by Roche Bobois worth $58,000 stolen from the store Merit
Vincler was arrested again and hit with additional felony charges, but after spending eight months behind bars, he took a plea deal and was sentenced to time served and probation on March 14, 2024.
Just a few months later, TikTok star Victoria Paris had two Rabanne bags, two Miu Miu bags, Hermes scarves, a Louis Vuitton duffel bag and several trays of jewelry, totaling $15,000 in goods, stolen from her home in June 2024.
Paris posted about the ordeal, and that is when she heard from people who believe Vincler was the thief.
‘The pattern is definitely people with good taste,’ she told NBC News. ‘I loved everybody he was burglarizing. It was definitely a vibe.’
She received a tip from multiple people who worked at a popular LA vintage store called Wasteland that her items were sold there, and she was able to get back her black Rabanne bag.
While Vincler has not been formally connected to Paris’ robbery by the police, he missed a probation hearing in December 2024, and a judge has issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
His lawyer, Arnold Reed II, told NBC News that he has not heard from his client since he was released on probation.
‘I haven’t spoken to him since,’ said Reed, ‘which, fingers crossed, is a really good thing.’
The Daily Mail contacted the Los Angeles Police Department and Vincler’s lawyer for comment.
