A man from Fremont in 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, also known as “Jason Wang,” “Alan Fujimori,” and “Austin Chen,” faces a federal felony charge of theft of major artwork. If convicted, he could receive up to 10 years in federal prison. Ying is currently in state custody and is expected to appear soon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, between December 2024 and July 2025, Ying checked out rare manuscripts from the university’s library. He allegedly took them home for several days before returning fake or “dummy” versions instead of the originals. The complaint states that after these incidents, Ying typically traveled to and from China within days of each theft.
The library became aware of missing manuscripts when staff discovered that several rare Chinese books were gone. An initial investigation found that the last person to view the books had used the name “Alan Fujimori.” These manuscripts are not part of regular circulation due to their rarity and value; they must be specially reserved and checked out.
Law enforcement searched Ying’s hotel room in Brentwood and found blank manuscripts and paperwork similar to those he had borrowed from the university. They also discovered pre-made asset tags associated with the same manuscripts, which authorities believe could be used to make dummy books for returning to the library instead of the originals.
When Ying was arrested on Monday, officers 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 investigating this case 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.”
