NYU freshman sues roommate for allegedly stealing over $50,000 worth of luxury handbags and jewelry
A freshman at New York University is suing her roommate after allegedly discovering that roughly $51,000 worth of handbags and jewelry were stolen.
Aurora Agapov, 19, filed a suit against her roommate Kaitlyn Fung and Fung's mother, accusing the 18-year-old of concocting a scheme to steal Agapov's pricey belongings and sell some of the items on an online luxury resale marketplace.
Agapov's father is Andre Agapov, a Russian-American mining magnate and CEO of a gold mining company.
The suit alleges that Aurora Agapov discovered in May that some of her things had gone missing from their room in Founders' Hall. She also found a receipt written to Fung from the online consignment shop The RealReal that listed the missing items, according to the lawsuit.
According to the suit, Agapov had Fung open her account on The RealReal, which allegedly showed several items Fung was in the process of selling including an 18-karat ring worth nearly $24,000, a $3,300 Celine tote, and a $4,000 Chanel handbag.
Items that had already been sold included a Bvlgari necklace sold for $2,485 and a Chanel bracelet sold for $175. The lawsuit says that both items were sold for substantially less than their true market value. The bracelet had a value of $2,000 and the necklace had a value of about $13,000, the suit says.
Other stolen items such as a Gucci handbag, Christian Louboutin shoes, and a Celine handbag had been sold but returned to Fung, according to the lawsuit.
Fung, of Old Tappan, New Jersey, was arrested on May 2 after Agapov reported the incident to the police. She's been charged with grand larceny, a police spokesperson said.
The suit says that Agapov went to The RealReal's location in New York City and was informed by an employee that Fung's mother had allegedly instructed them to send the unsold items to her home.
Fung, whose LinkedIn says that she's studying politics and criminology, and her mother could not be reached Tuesday at phone numbers listed for them. Attorney information for them was not listed in court documents.
Agapov says in the lawsuit that Fung and her mother "have failed and refused" to return the stolen items to her.
A representative for The RealReal said that none of the allegedly stolen items are in their possession anymore and the company is working with law enforcement.
All consignors are required to sign an agreement confirming they have the right to sell the items and that they are not stolen, the representative said in a statement.
"If we receive any information that items might be stolen, we act fast by removing the items from the site and starting an investigation," the statement said.
A spokesperson for NYU said they cannot comment on the specific incident but said stealing from roommates is rare at the school and is a "lousy thing to do." If a student is found to have stolen from a roommate, the student would most likely be immediately removed from the dorm and face serious consequences such as suspension.
Minyvonne Burke
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.
Kayla Steinberg is an associate producer for NBC News NOW.
Tom Winter is a New York-based correspondent covering crime, courts, terrorism and financial fraud on the East Coast for the NBC News Investigative Unit.