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22-Year-Old Trump Tower Resident Faked $288K Rolex Theft: Court

By Erica Demarest | October 24, 2015 8:56am | Updated on October 26, 2015 9:01am
 Yehudah Olanoff, 22, is charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
Yehudah Olanoff, 22, is charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Trump Tower resident who lost big to a Miami scam artist tried to recoup some cash by lying to Chicago Police about his Rolex collection, prosecutors said.

Yehudah Olanoff, 22, told officers someone broke into his home in the Trump International Hotel & Tower and stole four Rolex watches worth nearly $288,000, prosecutors alleged.

Olanoff then submitted a claim to Liberty Mutual Insurance to recover the value, court records show.

But when police started to investigate, they realized Olanoff had sold two of the watches, pawned a third for $30,000 and still owned the fourth, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Wednesday.

Olanoff, who is listed in court records as self-employed, now faces a disorderly conduct charge for filing a false police report.

Olanoff first contacted police on Sept. 22 and told them someone burglarized his home beween Sept. 18 and Sept. 21, an arrest report said. Olanoff allegedly claimed he was missing nearly $347,000 worth of items, including the four watches.

According to Scaduto, the Trump Tower resident later told police he had just returned from a trip to Miami, where he lost a large sum of money to a scam artist. Olanoff wanted to make some cash by selling the watches and filing the insurance claim, Scaduto said.

Olanoff sold two of the watches to a local jewelry store, where police were able to recover receipts and match serial numbers, prosecutors said. The store owner also identified Olanoff.

Scaduto said Olanoff pawned the third watch, and police found the fourth watch in Olanoff's possession.

He was arrested at his Near North Side home in the 400 block of North Wabash Avenue on Tuesday afternoon and charged.

At a bond hearing this week, Cook County Judge James Brown said Olanoff could be released on his own recognizance.

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