Three men and one female were arrested April 9 for allegedly stealing approximately $300,000 worth of Lego merchandise from various Southern California retailers, the California Highway Patrol announced in a statement.
Jeremy Johnson, 44, of Orange; Marta Hardt, 39, of Huntington Beach; Chung-Pei Yu, 47, of Studio City; and Shen Li, 35, of Brea were booked on charges including organized retail theft and grand theft and conspiracy, according to the CHP.
CHP investigators assigned to the Southern Division Organized Retail Crime Task Force arrested the four suspects.
Authorities said the worth of the merchandise, which has been recovered, was estimated to be $300,000 but victim retailers were still calculating losses.
Photos taken by police of the merchandise show piles of boxes of different Lego kits, including Minecraft, Sonic the Hedgehog, Disney, and Star Wars sets.
According to the statement, investigators found two suspects were stealing the merchandise from retailers and then delivering them to “fences,” those who purchase stolen goods and then resell them to other businesses or individuals.
Authorities said the merchandise was stolen from different retailers including Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s.
