A California man cooked up a scheme that called for buying thousands of dollars worth of Lego kits, replacing Lego pieces and minifigures with bags of uncooked pasta, and returning the sets to stores for refunds, police said on April 16.
The man, Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, California, was charged with grand theft after he gained about US$34,000 (S$43,183) in the fraudulent transactions, the Irvine Police Department said on social media.
The department store Target reported at least 70 thefts across the country that were tied to Augustine, police said. Target did not immediately return a request for comment on April 18.
Augustine was booked into the Orange County jail, and he has since been released, according to jail records. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
One photo posted by police shows an instruction book to a Star Wars Venator-Class Attack Cruiser, which retails for US$79.99.
Another photo shows the box to a Marvel Avengers Tower Building Set, a 5,201-piece kit that retails for US$499.99 on the Lego website. In the photo, several bags of Goya brand elbow-shaped pasta, which sell for less than US$2 a bag, are in front of the box.
Lego kits can sell for hundreds of dollars, with a Lego Death Star, for example, posted at US$999.99.
Some kits and minifigures have gained significantly in resale value, such as the Lego San Diego Comic-Con 2013 Spider-Man, which is assessed at more than US$15,000, according to BrickEconomy, a site dedicated to the economics of Lego.
While police made light of Augustine’s pasta-and-switch method, calling it a “pasta-tively terrible plan,” his scheme was just the latest in a trend of Lego thefts.
Thieves have targeted Lego products because of their high resale value in the underground market. Officials have said that the toys are targeted because the pieces and kits are small, untraceable and in high demand.
Dr Read Hayes, a research scientist and criminologist at the University of Florida and the executive director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, said it was possible that Augustine’s use of uncooked pasta – which he described as “off the charts” – was meant to simulate the shifting sound of the pieces inside the box.
“They’re not just highly stolen, they’re highly purchased,” Dr Hayes said. “Legos seem to be fairly persistent because they’re very good at coming out with new desirable things.”
In recent years the company has introduced Lego kits aimed at adults, including typewriters, trees and a model of the famous Paris cathedral Notre-Dame.
Many thieves work in pairs or groups, with one person as the reseller and another as the person committing the theft, Dr Hayes said. The stolen pieces get resold in person and online.
On April 8, three California men were charged with cargo theft after being stopped while fleeing in two box trucks full of US$1 million worth of Lego, the authorities said.
In October, police broke up a Lego theft ring that focused on reselling the small character figurines that come with kits, the authorities said. Some thieves have managed to grab more than US$100,000 worth of Lego in burglaries.
The Irvine Police Department urged others to not replicate Augustine’s scheme.
“If your master plan involves swapping LEGOs for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente,” the police said. NYTIMES
