A California man has been accused of pulling off an audacious, and bizarre, retail scam by allegedly returning high-end LEGO sets filled with dry pasta instead of the original pieces.

Police say Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, carried out the unusual scheme dozens of times, targeting stores across the country and racking up tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent refunds.

According to investigators, Augustine would purchase expensive LEGO sets, including popular LEGO collections tied to franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, before removing the valuable pieces and carefully repackaging the boxes.

But instead of leaving them empty, police say he filled the packages with dry pasta, chosen to mimic the weight of the original contents, before returning them to stores for a full refund.

Authorities allege the scheme was repeated around 70 times, generating roughly $34,000 in returns.

The alleged scam came undone after patterns were identified by the Irvine Police Department, who launched an investigation linking the transactions to a single suspect.

Surveillance footage reportedly shows the man selecting LEGO sets inside stores, while bodycam video captures the moment officers moved in to make the arrest.

The case has drawn widespread attention online, with many stunned by the sheer creativity, and apparent persistence, behind what has been dubbed the “pasta plot.”

Police have not commented on whether any of the swapped boxes were resold to unsuspecting customers, though the case highlights ongoing challenges retailers face with return fraud.

Augustine now faces charges as authorities continue to investigate the full scope of the alleged scheme, which turned a childhood toy into the center of an unexpectedly elaborate criminal operation.