California Fraudster forced to give up Yoda in plea deal

The force is no longer with Eric Hodgson, a California man who gave up a collection of Star Wars memorabilia worth more than $10,000 in a plea deal to charges that he defrauded a state agency out of nearly $1.9 million. Hodgson was charged in April with 22 counts of grand theft after the California Department of Transportation hired him to publish advertisements for construction contracts in local newspapers. "He instead used the money to pay off a mortgage, make purchases of toys and comics, and pay for exotic trips for him and his company staff," State Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office said in a statement.