Girlfriend of jewel thief who stole $300k from Cartier and Tiffany's reveals how he conned her with diamond gifts

The girlfriend of an international jewel thief arrested in New York has broken her silence and claimed that he swindled his way into her heart with the stolen gems. 

Yaorong Wan, 49, was arrested on Friday after he was caught stealing from at least two jewelry stores across the Big Apple.

He has open arrest warrants out of Long Island and New Jersey, a Red Notice from Interpol and is wanted in South Korea for stealing from high-end jewelry stores.

Wan's girlfriend, who spoke anonymously to the New York Daily News, said he often gifted her with jewelry and although she is unsure if they were the stolen goods, she threw them out after his arrest.

'He looked like a nice person when we initially met, which is why I accepted him as a partner. And so when he was arrested, I was very surprised and scared,' she said. 

Yaorong Wan, 49, has open arrest warrants out of Long Island and New Jersey , a Red Notice from Interpol and is wanted in South Korea for stealing from high-end jewelry stores

Nassau County police said Wan stole a $17,000 Chopard Watch from a London Jewelers in Manhasset (pictured) using a 'sleight of hand trick'

The woman, who appeared to be in her 40s, said she met Wan while on a trip to Los Angeles in January while he was using the alias Wen San.

He quickly swooned her and convinced the woman to let him move into her Queens home. She said he never paid rent while living with her, but would bring home jewelry. 

'I saw some of the jewelry he has but I didn't know where it was from,' she told the Daily News.

'I asked him where those are from and he said he purchased them used. He was certainly lying to me. He was hitting on me.'

'He treated me really well. He was very nice to me. As a woman, I basically fell for him because he was a man who was very nice to me. I think he is charming. He really cared about me. That's why I allowed him to move in,' the woman said.

After he was arraigned in New York City on two counts of grand larceny, Wan was moved to Long Island to face charges for an April 19 theft.

Nassau County police said Wan stole a $17,000 Chopard Watch from a London Jewelers in Manhasset using a 'sleight of hand trick.'

Wan is accused of swiping a ring worth a quarter-million dollars from a Tiffany & Co in Rockefeller Center and another ring from a Cartier in Hudson Yards in March.

The accused jewel thief entered the Tiffany's on Fifth Ave. on March 4 and inquired about multiple pieces of jewelry, including the $255,000 ring, according the criminal complaint viewed by DailyMail.com.

An employee allowed him to hold the pieces, but Wan allegedly duped them by handing back a counterfeit ring.

It wasn't until a week later during an inventory check the Tiffany employees discovered the diamond ring was replaced with a cubic zirconia stone and 18-carat white gold mounting.

'The genuine Tiffany ring contained a natural diamond mounted in platinum. Furthermore, the genuine ring contained engraving, hallmarking, a unique SKU number, all of which were not present on the counterfeit ring,' the criminal complaint said.

On March 12, Wan entered the Cartier store at 20 Hudson Yards and inquired about multiple pieces of jewelry, including two engagement rings and two watches.

'While [the Cartier employee] was distracted, [Wan] handed back one of the diamond rings to [the Cartier employee], but kept the second diamond ring in his hand, placed that ring in his pocket, and left the store a short time later without paying for the ring and without permission or authority to take the ring,' said the criminal complaint.

Wan is accused of stealing a ring worth $255,000 from the Tiffany & Co at Rockefeller Center (pictured) by swapping it out with a counterfeit ring

Police said Wan pocketed a ring worth $25,000 from the Cartier in Hudson Yards (pictured)

Police said surveillance footage showed Wan concealed the $25,000 diamond ring in his hand then placed it in his pocket and left the store. 

Wan has also been identified as the prime suspect in a series of thefts from Cartier stores in California and Miami, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

There is an active arrest warrant for Wan in the Republic of Korea for a $332,000.00 theft of jewelry that took place in Seoul, Korea on September 30, 2018, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

He has also been identified as the prime suspect in a series of thefts from Cartier stores in California and Miami.

Wan is currently being held on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond in Nassau County.

Police said Wan entered the United States illegally on December 29 at the border in San Diego, California and was arrested. 

He was subsequently released after pleading asylum and his next scheduled Federal court date is on January 30, 2025.