4 charged in theft of $300,000 worth of Legos from California stores

Four Californians have been arrested and charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Legos from stores, according to authorities.

The three men and one woman from the Los Angeles area were all charged with organized retail theft, grand theft and conspiracy to commit a crime, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release. They were identified as 44-year-old Jeremy Johnson of Orange, 39-year-old Marta Hardt of Huntington Beach, 47-year-old Chung-Pei Yu of Studio City, and 35-year-old Shen Li of Brea.

The group is accused of stealing the goods from retailers throughout Southern California, including Target, Home Depot and Lowe's, the highway patrol said.

It's unclear if the four people have attorneys.

How did the alleged Lego thieves steal from retailers?

The highway patrol believes that two of the suspects acted as boosters, stealing from retailers and delivering stolen Legos to separate "fences," which are people who buy stolen goods to sell them at "seemingly legitimate businesses, swap meets, or online," the agency said.

The estimated loss to retailers stemming from the alleged scheme is around $300,000, the highway patrol added.

The buyers of the stolen Legos "may or may not be aware that the products they are purchasing were stolen as part of an organized retail crime operation," according to the highway patrol.

How expensive are Lego sets?

Lego sets can vary in price and range from $400 to nearly $1,000.

IGN, a video game and entertainment media website, ranked the top 15 most expensive Lego sets available to customers.

The top five most expensive Lego sets, according to IGN, are:

• Lego Razor Crest from the movie "Star Wars" for $598.99
• Lego Eiffel Tower for $629.99
• Lego Titanic for $679.99
• Lego AT-AT Walker from the movie "Star Wars" for $849.95
• Lego Millenium Falcon from the movie "Star Wars" for $849.95