Tiffany exec stole over $1m worth of gems and sold them

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US prosecutors have charged a former Tiffany executive with stealing more than a million dollars worth of hoop earings, platinum pendants and other items.

Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, who worked as a vice president of the high-end jeweller through February 2013, allegedly stole more than 165 pieces of jewellery.

She later sold items to another leading international jeweller for US$1.3 million, according to a complaint filed by the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.

The complaint does not identify Lederhaas-Okun's former employer, but refers to her role as vice president of product development at "a high-end jewellery company."

Lederhaas-Okun's LinkedIn profile lists her as a Tiffany vice-president through March 2013.

According to the charges, she removed the items and then, working with her husband and an acquaintance, allegedly sold many or all of them to the other jeweler.

Among the items were diamond bracelets, platinum or gold diamond drop and hoop earrings and diamond bracelets.

Lederhaas-Okun was let go by Tiffany in February 2013 as part of a company downsizing.

After her termination, she told Tiffany that the missing jewellery could be found in a white envelope in her office. But a subsequent search of the office did not yield any white envelope, according to prosecutors.

- AFP