A bizarre Lego fraud scandal is widening in California after police arrested a pair accused of stripping valuable pieces from the toy sets and then returning the boxes.
This latest arrest comes just days after another suspect was charged in a similar scheme that also saw the Legos switched for uncooked linguine.
Adriana Esquerra Gonzalez, 29, and Luis Alfredo Quintanilla Pompa, 30, both from Tijuana, Mexico, were taken into custody after allegedly carrying out a rapid-fire return scam targeting multiple stores in a single day, said authorities in Irvine.
The couple purchased Lego sets from a Target store and then immediately returned them with the most valuable contents missing, specifically the collectible minifigures that often carry significant resale value, according to the Irvine Police Department.
Officers were alerted by store staff and loss prevention teams, who noticed the suspicious pattern.
Investigators quickly determined the alleged scheme extended far beyond a single location.
'Officers worked closely with loss prevention and discovered that the couple had visited five other stores earlier that day and had done the same thing,' police said.
When authorities searched the suspects' vehicle, they reported finding several of the missing Lego pieces inside.
Alfredo Quintanilla Pompa, 30, left, and Adriana Esquerra Gonzalez, 29, right, are accused of buying Lego sets and returning them with valuable minifigures removed
The Lego pieces are small and untraceable, making them attractive to steal and sell on the black market
Bags of Goya elbow-shaped pasta were used to replace Lego pieces in kits that were returned to stores, the police said
Police described the duo's approach as less elaborate than another case that had already put Lego-related fraud under the spotlight last month.
That earlier arrest involved Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, California who investigators say orchestrated a nationwide scam involving dozens of stores and tens of thousands of dollars in losses.
According to police, Augustine purchased Lego kits, removed high-value pieces and minifigures, and replaced them with bags of dried pasta before returning the boxes for refunds.
Authorities say the idea was designed to mimic the weight and sound of the original contents.
Gonzalez, 29, left, and Pompa, 30, were arrested after police say they visited at least five stores in one day carrying out the same buy-and-return scheme targeting Lego products
Jarrelle Augustine, 28, was identified after Target reported a pattern of suspicious purchases and returns, with investigators linking him to repeated visits where Lego sets were bought, altered and then brought back for refunds
Augustine, 28, was arrested after investigators connected him to at least 70 suspected thefts involving Lego sets purchased at Target, altered by removing pieces and then returned
Augustine is accused of altering Lego sets by removing valuable pieces and minifigures and replacing them with bags of uncooked pasta before returning the boxes for refunds
In one case tied to Augustine's scheme, Officer Ziggy Azarcon told CBS News that store employees discovered the deception only after opening a returned box.
'One of the cases that occurred here in Orange County, they shared that they opened the box and instead of Legos, they found bags of dry pasta,' Azarcon said.
Police estimate Augustine's alleged operation was linked to at least 70 thefts nationwide, totaling roughly $34,000 in losses. He has been charged with grand theft.
The Irvine Police Department, in a statement posted online, mocked the unusual method while underscoring the seriousness of the crime.
'A suspect purchased Lego sets from Target, and removed valuable mini figures and pieces from the boxes, and in some cases, replaced them with dried pasta,' the department said. 'You read that correctly. We are talking about durum wheat semolina pasta, and what we are calling a pasta-tively terrible plan.'
These are just some of the Lego figurines that the Irvine Police recovered
Police say the California man bought Lego sets to orchestrate a refund scheme that involved bags of pasta
Valuable Lego minifigures, often the most sought-after parts of a set, were removed before the boxes were returned, with some rare figures capable of reselling for hundreds of dollars
Police said they recovered multiple Lego sets during the investigation, including items believed to have been taken from returned boxes after the valuable contents were removed
The toys have become a lucrative target because of their high resale value and the difficulty of tracking individual pieces.
While common minifigures may sell for a few dollars, rare or discontinued figures can fetch hundreds, and in some cases far more on secondary markets.
The small size and widespread demand for the pieces make them particularly attractive to thieves, who can easily remove and resell them online or in person.