California man accused of removing price tags, stealing coins worth thousands

CREVE COEUR, Mo. (First Alert 4) -A man from California is being accused of removing the price tags from coins and buying them for less than they were worth.

Shao Jing Tan is being charged with three counts of stealing $750 or more and one count of a class A misdemeanor for stealing, according to court documents.

Charging documents state that the Creve Coeur Police were notified of Scotsman Coin and Jewelry in the 11000 block of Olive Boulevard regarding multiple thefts.

Employees told police that a customer would go to the store when their foreign coin expert was not there. The customer, later identified as Tan, was seen by employees manipulating the price tags on the foreign coins. He would do so by removing the price tags and placing new ones with a lower price, or by using a pen to scratch out the amount and write a lower price, court documents said.

Tan would then buy the coins at the lower price. Employees showed police at least four instances, captured on camera, of Tan doing this.

The first incident was captured on July 20; Tan bought coins at the lower price he had set, resulting in approximately a $300 loss for the business.

On Sept. 8, Tan purchased coins valued at approximately $2,000 for $827. On Oct. 5, Tan bought coins valued at approximately $ 10,000 for $625. Lastly, on Oct. 12, Tan bought a coin valued at approximately $4,500 for $100, according to court records.

On Friday, officers were notified that Tan entered the business, and he was arrested. Police say that, due to a language barrier, an interview was not conducted, according to charging documents.

Court records state that Tan is an interstate trucker believed to live in California.

He is currently being held on a $100,000 cash-only, no-10 percent bond.