I always like “one of a kind” stories. I like “one of a kind” movies as well. There is something to be said for things we have never seen or read before, and probably won’t see or hear them after the fact either. This is definitely one of those stories.
A man in Irvine, California, is accused of a retail scam involving LEGO sets and pasta at stores like Target. According to investigators, he would buy LEGO boxed kits, carefully open the boxes, remove the valuable pieces from the boxes, and then replace them with dried pasta. He would then reseal the packaging to make it appear unopened and return the boxes to Target for a full refund.
Assuming that the geniuses at Target didn’t check the boxes, and honestly, why would they, the tampered sets would end up back on shelves and sold to customers. So this guy was having his LEGO cake and eating it too, as he kept the valuable real LEGO pieces while getting his money back from the returns. Authorities eventually caught on, and he faces charges related to theft and fraud.
The fun with LEGOS ended with the arrest of 28-year-old Jarrelle Augustine. He is accused of grand theft for allegedly stealing the Lego sets, according to Irvine, California, police.
Target told authorities that there were at least 70 thefts across the US tied to Augustine, “stacking up about $34,000 in losses”. Police quipped: “That’s a lot of missing pieces.”
The police added the following cute pun, “If your master plan involves swapping Legos for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente.”
He was ultimately caught because investigators noticed patterns. Patterns in the returns themselves and through store surveillance as well. Target keeps detailed records of returns tied to customers and payment methods, and loss prevention teams noticed repeated refunds involving the same types of items.
In addition, security cameras and inspections of returned merchandise revealed that the boxes had been tampered with and filled with pasta instead of LEGO pieces. Once the pattern was clear, investigators were able to identify him and build a case, leading to his arrest on theft and fraud-related charges.
Ziggy Azarcon, the Irvine police department public information officer, said that investigators began looking into the case in December 2025.
It seems like if you hit the $34k mark in theft, you’re gonna go to prison. Our friend Jarelle is gonna have one f*cked up prison stay when they ask him what he’s in for. Better off saying you’re a Cho-Mo, bro bro! I think this LEGO thief (nerd) is going to have one bumpy ride in lockdown.
