A Vista sheriff's detective thought he was investigating a routine shoplifting complaint last year when he confronted a San Marcos couple at their home about allegedly stealing LEGOs from the Target store on University Drive.

He soon found out that the pair had confessed -- on national TV -- to making about $100,000 a year by stealing.

"I've never seen anything like it," Detective Dave Hillen said, adding that his initial investigation of Laura and Matthew Eaton didn't reveal any arrests for theft in California.

"How do you do all this and not get caught?" Hillen asked.

Last week, the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force served a federal search warrant at the Eaton home.

They seized toys, a car and other belongings from the home as part of an investigation headed by the U.S. Secret Service.

Neither spouse has been arrested or charged with any crime in the federal investigation, authorities have said.

In November, the couple appeared on the "Dr. Phil" TV show and talked about making as much as $100,000 a year shoplifting, sometimes taking their three children on shoplifting trips.

But Hillen said Thursday that he first encountered the Eatons in August after a Target employee suspected them of stealing a LEGO toy kit.

The Target employee, who works in the loss prevention department, identified the couple and passed the information on to authorities, Hillen said.

"I went to the home and initially they denied it, but later they admitted to it," he said.

The Los Angeles-based United Defense Group, which represents the Eatons, said Thursday that the firm was not commenting on the case.

Hillen said he didn't arrest the couple in August, but he did complete the investigation and forwarded a misdemeanor case to the district attorney's office for review and possible charges.

A few months later, when the district attorney was deciding whether to file charges, Hillen received an e-mail from the Target employee telling him the Eatons had confessed to talk show host Phil McGraw that they made their living shoplifting, he said.

"I searched and searched the Internet and found the show," Hillen said. "I contacted the district attorney's office … and said 'I've got new information.' "

That's when the case went to the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force and the Secret Service got involved, Hillen said.

Laura Eaton acknowledged during the show that she and her husband may have violated federal law when they transported stolen property across state lines.

Sheriff's officials said the couple is suspected of several thefts from the Vista Target -- and of continuing to steal after appearing on "Dr. Phil."

"I can confirm that they are suspected in crimes that occurred after the airing, but I can't disclose when or where those crimes occurred," Vista sheriff's Sgt. Art Wager said Thursday.

Hillen said that when he first interviewed the couple at their home, he noticed a large number of unopened toys in the garage.

When asked about them, Matthew Eaton said that he made a legitimate living selling toys through the Internet auction site eBay, Hillen said.

At that point, nothing suggested that the couple might be serial shoplifters, Hillen said.

But in the "Dr. Phil" episode, Eaton said the toys he sold online were stolen, and that he made $3,500 in one seven-day period.

On Monday, an eBay store attached to the couple's Leslie Court address was still active, though no items were listed for sale.

By Thursday, the Web site showed that "matt_hts" was "no longer a registered user."

Representatives of the eBay site could not be reached to comment on whether the user voluntarily canceled their registration or if the account was suspended by the company because of a policy violation.

Representatives of the "Dr. Phil" show have declined to comment on the case, citing a policy of not commenting on "unresolved police matters."

In the "Dr. Phil" episode, Eaton described the tactics that he used to steal. He called shoplifting "easy money."

Laura Eaton told McGraw that the couple had planned to use the proceeds from stolen goods as seed money for a legitimate toy-selling business.

According to the show, the couple has been stealing for at least six years.

McGraw said in the episode that the couple's children -- who were shown in a video chronicling what the couple described as three-day shoplifting trip -- were ages 4, 2 and 1 when the show aired in November.

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.

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