Former exec of Tiffany & Co. charged with stealing

New York -- Federal authorities have arrested a former Tiffany & Co. executive, charging her with stealing more than $1 million in jewelry and then reselling it for $1.3 million.



According to reports, Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun was arrested at her home in Darien, Conn. She was charged with wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property by the FBI, and could face up to 30 years in prison.



The former VP of product development, Lederhaas-Okun had authority to "check out" jewelry from Tiffany to provide to potential manufacturers to determine production costs. Prosecutors claim that from January 2011 to February 2013, she checked out 165 pieces of jewelry, including diamond bracelets and platinum and gold earrings, and then sold them to an unnamed jewelry reseller in Manhattan.



“Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun went from a vice president at a high-end jewelry company to jewel thief,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, in the FBI statement.