NEW YORK (AP) - Two women donned wigs and designer clothes to pose as potential apartment buyers in some of Manhattan's most expensive neighborhoods so they could steal from the luxury homes, prosecutors said.

The women, Jessica Joyner and Jennifer Jones, appeared Monday in Manhattan Criminal Court, charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen property and attempted larceny.

One woman would distract the real estate agent during an open house while the other would wander off to snatch luggage, jewelry and clothing, prosecutors said.

"They would essentially loot the premises," said Mao Yu Lin, an assistant district attorney. The women, who were arrested on Saturday, also face similar charges in Bergen County, N.J., he said.

A criminal complaint says the defendants stole about $20,000 worth of items. The booty included luggage made by Coach, Louis Vuitton and Hermes; engagement and wedding rings; a Tiffany alarm clock; and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, prosecutors said.

Lin said both women confessed.

The two had been captured on security cameras at some of the four Manhattan buildings they targeted in October and November, officials said. They were caught after a doorman noted the license plate of a Jaguar they drove away in after one theft.

Both women live on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side.

An attorney who represented Joyner and Jones during their arraignment, Marc Agnifilo, said his clients would plead not guilty to the charges in both New York and New Jersey.

Joyner's mother, Laura Rothman, described her daughter as a law-abiding soccer mom of a 13-year-old girl.

"She's a good kid," Rothman said in Tuesday editions of The Daily News. "I'm very surprised about what happened. She never had any record. She's an honest kid."

A lawyer for Joyner, 39, said her client suffers from "serious and ongoing chronic medical and psychiatric issues" and that Jones, 33, has a persistent medical condition that causes severe pain.

Hon. Dena Douglas set bail for each women at $30,000 in cash or $40,000 bond.