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  • February 18, 2025
Texas authorities bust a 0,000 multi-state Lego theft ring

Texas authorities bust a $400,000 multi-state Lego theft ring

TYLER, Texas (KLTV/Gray News) – Texas authorities have arrested at least two men involved in a $400,000 scheme to steal Lego sets from Walmart and Target stores in four states and resell them online.

Brian Keith Fleming, 33, and Ladarion Dontre Anderson, 33, were arrested. According to an affidavit, the scheme involves 10 people and has been active for at least two years.

On October 14, 2022, an officer noticed 19 unopened Cricut machines during a traffic stop, and the driver was unable to explain why they were in the car or where the machines came from, according to the affidavit.

The driver was arrested on an outstanding warrant and the officer contacted Walmart and Target to determine if the machines had been stolen.

Authorities obtained a search warrant for two cellphones found in the car, and the text history on those devices helped them launch an investigation that crossed state lines.

The phones revealed conversations about stealing Cricut machines to sell to a third person at a discounted rate, the affidavit said. The texts also mentioned that we would do the same with Lego sets.

The United States Postal Inspector is investigating the buyer, who allegedly paid cash for the items and then resold them on Amazon, eBay and other online platforms, the affidavit said.

On March 14, a special agent in Texas was assigned to the case and learned from an Amazon investigator that the seller had provided a number of invoices for Lego sets that directly mentioned Fleming.

The investigation revealed that Fleming and Anderson worked with a ring of five “shoppers” to steal the sets from stores across Texas, the affidavit said.

Fleming and Anderson were caught on Walmart surveillance video walking down the Lego aisle before purchasing a handful of other items, all between $1 and $2.

The document says one of the five shoppers then entered the store and placed an equal number of Lego sets into a cart before walking past the cash registers and out the door.

If stopped, they would show the receipt for the items Fleming or Anderson had purchased, with the names and prices changed. Researchers identified this pattern after stopping several customers.

The affidavit says Walmart and Target investigators estimated the combined total value of the stolen items at more than $400,000.

Invoices from the reseller show that in just four months in 2024, more than 500 Lego sets were resold at or below half the market price.

Fleming and Anderson have both been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and theft over $300,000.

Arrest documents show more than 273 individual thefts occurred, mostly at stores throughout Texas, but also in Oklahoma, Florida and Pennsylvania.