An international jewelry thief who pleaded guilty to stealing $260,000 worth of diamonds from two luxury Manhattan stores and was charged with stealing a $17,000 watch from a Manhasset store was sentenced to three to nine years in state prison, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.

Yaorong Wan, 50, of Queens, was sentenced on Monday by Judge Curtis Farber in Manhattan Criminal Supreme Court for stealing diamond rings from Tiffany & Co. and Cartier in March 2024, spokesperson Rachel Best said. 

Wan was arrested on May 4 in Flushing, Queens. At the time of his arrest, he was wanted by Interpol for suspected thefts in South Korea and others in California and Florida. He pleaded guilty in June to one count of second-degree grand larceny, the office said.

“Yaorong Wan is facing time in prison for stealing $260,000 worth of diamonds from two high end retailers,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “Those who steal from New York’s bustling businesses will be prosecuted.”

On March 4, 2024, Wan entered Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue and inquired about multiple pieces of jewelry, including a natural diamond ring mounted in platinum with an engraving and worth about $225,000, according to court documents and statements made on the record.

After Wan examined the ring, he slipped it into his palm and switched the genuine ring with a counterfeit ring, prosecutors said.

On March 11, 2024, Tiffany & Co. employees discovered the genuine ring had been replaced with a counterfeit, during a routine check, prosecutors said.

On March 12, 2024, Wan entered Cartier in Hudson Yards and inquired about multiple pieces of jewelry, including two engagement rings and two watches. While the employee was distracted, Wan handed back one of the diamond rings while keeping the second ring in his hand, worth about $24,000, prosecutors said.

On April 19, 2024, Wan entered London Jewelers on Northern Boulevard in Manhasset, Nassau County prosecutors said. While viewing multiple high-value timepieces, Wan allegedly concealed a Chopard watch valued at more than $17,000 and put it inside his left jacket pocket, according to the district attorney’s office. He was charged with grand larceny. 

Wan pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny on March 17 for the Nassau case and was sentenced to 2-1/3 to 7 years in prison on July 11, the Nassau district attorney’s office said.

Wan’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

Maureen Mullarkey is a breaking news reporter at Newsday. She previously worked as a reporter for Patch, where she covered a range of Long Island stories on topics such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy and the Babylon School District abuse scandals.