A former vice president of product development at Tiffany & Co. has been arrested and charged with stealing more than $1.3 million worth of jewelry from her former employer, according to a statement from the FBI.
Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, 46, worked at Tiffany for more than 20 years in various positions, finally serving as a vice president of product development until February 2013. According to the statement, she had authority to check out jewelry belonging to the company for work-related reasons.
The FBI statement alleges that Lederhaas-Okun checked out more than 165 pieces of jewelry with a retail value of over $1.2 million, including numerous bracelets, earrings, rings, and pendants. Most of that jewelry was never returned to the company, according to the statement, and some, if not all, of it was sold to a Manhattan reseller. It also alleges that she made repeated false statements to the jewelry company about the items.
Lederhaas-Okun was arrested on July 2 at her Connecticut home. She is charged with wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property, and she faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.
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