A man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly using false identities to steal over $200,000 worth of rare Chinese manuscripts from the UCLA Library system.

Jeffrey Ying, a resident of Fremont, California, allegedly stole manuscripts from the UCLA East Asian Library and UCLA Library Special Collections and replaced them with false copies multiple times since October 2024, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint. UCPD contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation after library staff noticed multiple materials were missing, according to the affidavit. 

UCPD arrested Ying on Aug. 5 when he arrived at a UCLA library to allegedly check out more manuscripts, according to the affidavit. 

Ying was charged in a federal criminal complaint – a pleading that begins a court case – according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office.

“Ying rented the manuscripts, brought them home for days at a time, then returned a dummy manuscript instead of the authentic one,” the press release said.

Ying allegedly used three aliases – “Alan Fujimori,” “Jason Wang” and “Austin Chen” – and checked out over six manuscripts in about nine months, according to the affidavit. The affidavit added that he typically traveled to and from China and South Korea following the thefts.

UCPD made the arrest and searched a local hotel, said Jeffrey Chobanian, the acting captain of UCPD’s administrative and operations bureau, in an emailed statement. UCPD transferred all materials involved in the case and the case itself to the FBI after reviewing the evidence, according to the statement. 

UCPD declined to comment on the specific items taken to “avoid compromising the investigation.” 

“We will continue to support the FBI by fulfilling any requests they make, which may include testifying in court, conducting interviews, and coordinating with UCLA staff when appropriate,” Chobanian said in the statement. 

Additionally, books from UC Irvine and UC San Diego were transferred into the UCLA Library system after Ying allegedly requested them, according to the affidavit. People in the University can transfer books between different campuses using UC Library Search, according to the UC Libraries website. 

A person under the same name as one of Ying’s aliases was also associated with similar thefts at UC Berkeley, according to the affidavit. 

UCPD searched Ying’s hotel room Aug. 6 and found materials connected to the replication of books – including blank manuscripts that looked similar to the rare ones stolen and labels known as asset tags, according to the affidavit. 

Ying is currently in state custody and has been charged with theft of major artwork – a felony punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, according to the press release. 

Ying is expected to make his first appearance in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in the coming days, according to the press release.