‘Lego bandit’ accused in bizarre $34K scheme replacing minifigures with pasta

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. A California man is accused of stealing Lego sets from Target stores and was taken into custody after police linked him to a nationwide $34,000 theft scheme involving boxes filled with dried pasta. (Credit: Irvine Police Department) A California man allegedly cooked up a bizarre Lego theft scheme, but police said it came apart piece by piece. Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, is accused of buying Lego sets from Target, removing valuable minifigures and pieces, then returning the boxes after filling them with dried pasta, Irvine police said. Investigators linked him to roughly 70 thefts nationwide totaling about $34,000 in losses. The Irving Police Department said detectives used surveillance to identify Augustine as the suspect. He was taken into custody and booked into the Orange County Jail on grand theft charges. CHILEAN BURGLARY CREW FILMED T