Ex-executive, Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, previously employed by Tiffany & Co., pleaded guilty this Friday to pilfering over $2 million worth of jewelry from the famous store on Fifth Avenue.
46-year-old Leederhaas-Okun was arrested earlier this month for the theft, and appeared in court today in Manhattan to admit to the charge of interstate transportation of stolen property against her, according to Reuters.
In court, she admitted to stealing the jewelry and revealed that she had hidden some of it at her home Darien, Connecticut.
When first asked about jewelry by police, she explained that some of it was left in the Tiffanys’ store, and some had been lost or damaged. Today, however, her story was a little different.
"I knew it was illegal to steal, and I did so regardless. ... I'm very sorry," Leederhaas-Okun told the judge today, according to Associated Press.
Investigation into the theft and the proceedings revealed that as vice president of product development at the store, Lederhaas-Okun, checked out jewelry under false pretense to present it to potential manufacturers for cost production assessments, and instead stole it for personal use, and also resold pieces to an unnamed international dealer as her “personal property” for over $1.3 million.
She remained under the radar by checking out items under $10,000 a piece, because only items worth $25,000 or more were included in a daily inventory of checked-out items.
Altogether, Leederhaas-Okun checked out about 164 items that were never returned, totaling over $2.1 million worth of diamond bracelets and earrings in platinum and 18-carat gold, diamond rings in platinum, rings in 18-carat gold and special stone, and diamond and platinum pendants.
Under a plea agreement, she has agreed to forfeit more than $2.11 million and pay $2.24 million in restitution.
In return, she will serve a minimum sentence of 2 years and maximum sentence of 4 years, set by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe to begin on December 10.
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