Cops: Man Swapped Out Lego Pieces With Dried Pasta

Police say a California man tried to turn boxes of Lego pieces into a kind of pasta-based refund scheme—and it allegedly paid off for a while. Per People, Irvine police on Thursday announced the arrest of 28-year-old Jarrelle Augustine of Paramount, California, on suspicion of grand theft, alleging he bought Lego sets at Target, removed some of the figures, swapped in bags of dried pasta, then returned the boxes for refunds. Target reported about 70 such incidents at stores across the country tied to the same person, for losses totaling roughly $34,000, according to police.

Officer Ziggy Azarcon told CBS News that in at least one case, staff opened a returned box to find dry pasta instead of Lego bricks. Authorities noted the sound of shaking pasta can resemble loose Lego pieces. Detectives say they used surveillance to identify Augustine, who was taken into custody and booked into the Orange County Jail, per People. The allegedly affected stores include locations in Irvine, Westminster, and Costa Mesa, as well as other sites outside of Orange County. Police released video of the arrest, along with photos of pasta packets and separated Lego pieces, calling the alleged scheme a "pasta-tively terrible plan."