Lego Scammer Claims to Be San Bruno Fire Victim

A man who pleaded no contest on Thursday to three counts of commercial burglary for his role in a “Star Wars” Lego scam claimed through his attorney that he lost his home in the deadly 2010 San Bruno pipeline blast and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Donald Michael Morales, 45, was arrested on April 14 at a Redwood City Target store after he tried to buy a $139.99 “Star Wars” Lego set for $15.99, prosecutors said.

According to the Chronicle report, Morales hit Target stores in San Bruno, San Mateo and Redwood City on at least 14 separate occasions, doctoring price bar codes, prosecutors said. Morales sold the Lego sets for a profit on eBay.

The Chronicle reports that Morales will spend no more than four months in jail under terms of a plea deal, his attorney, Jeff Jackson said.

"It caused a downward spiral," Jackson told the Chronicle. "He was really affected by that, was having emotional issues, lost his job, fell on hard times. That doesn't mean you should turn to crime, but he had his whole world turned upside down."

Morales’ scam is the second involving Lego sets reported in the same week in May, the San Jose Mercury reports. The other involved a Silicon Valley executive that prosecutors don’t believe is related to Morales’ scam.

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