Fremont Man Sentenced For Manuscript Theft

Jeffrey Ying, a 39-year-old Fremont man, was sentenced on July 8 to 12 months and one day in federal prison after admitting he stole rare and historical Chinese manuscripts from the UCLA library system and returned dummy copies in their place, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Prosecutors said Ying carried out the thefts from December 2024 to July 2025. The case centered on manuscripts from UCLA’s East Asian library collections, including a 17th-century work from China’s Qing dynasty. Restitution will be determined later, the Justice Department said. ### How did prosecutors say the thefts worked? Court filings cited by the Justice Department said Ying checked out rare manuscripts, kept them for days, and then returned dummy versions instead of the originals. Prosecutors said he used aliases including “Jason Wang,” “Alan Fujimori,” and “Austin Chen” while accessing the materials. (justice.gov) The Justice Department said the books were not in regular circulation because of their rarity and value and had to be reserved and checked out. Investigators said UCLA staff noticed several rare Chinese manuscripts were missing and found that the books had last been viewed by a visitor identifying himself as “Alan Fujimori.” (justice.gov) ### What did investigators find when they searched for evidence? Law enforcement officers searched Ying’s Brentwood hotel room and found blank manuscripts and paperwork in the style and manner of the books he had checked out from the university, prosecutors said. Investigators also found pre-made asset tags associated with the same manuscripts, which the Justice Department said could be used to create dummy books for return to the library. (justice.gov) Authorities said that when Ying was arrested in August 2025, they found a fraudulent California identification card in the name of “Austin Chen” and two library cards in the names of “Austin Chen” and “Jason Wang.” The criminal case that followed charged him with theft of major artwork, a federal felony. (justice.gov) ### Which manuscript was tied to the charge? The Justice Department said the felony count to which Ying pleaded guilty in October 2025 related to his December 2024 theft of a 17th-century manuscript dating from China’s Qing dynasty. In the earlier charging announcement, prosecutors said the stolen manuscripts were worth about $216,000. (justice.gov) The July 8 sentencing announcement described the materials more broadly as rare and historical Chinese manuscripts from UCLA’s library system. The department did not, in that release, say whether all of the missing originals had been recovered. ### Who handled the case? U.S. District Judge John F. Walter imposed the sentence in federal court in Los Angeles, according to the sentencing release. (justice.gov) The FBI’s Art Crime Team investigated the case with assistance from the UCLA Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said Assistant U.S. (justice.gov) Attorneys Mark A. Williams and Dennis Mitchell prosecuted the case at sentencing. The earlier charging release listed Williams as the prosecutor when the complaint was filed in August 2025. ### What happens next in the case? (justice.gov) The July 8 Justice Department release said restitution in Ying’s case will be determined at a later date. That means the criminal sentence has been imposed, but the court still has to decide what financial repayment, if any, will be ordered. The next public milestone is likely to come through a court filing or a further announcement from the U.S. (justice.gov) Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles as the restitution process moves forward.