According to the U.S. Attorney in L.A. ... 48-year-old Dykstra was arrested by local authorities and later charged with one felony count of embezzling from a bankruptcy estate.

Officials claim Dykstra -- who filed for bankruptcy in 2009 -- "stole and destroyed more than $400,000 worth of property in the estate."

FYI -- Dykstra is not legally allowed to sell off any of the items that make up the bankruptcy estate. The property must only be used to pay off debts to creditors and all transactions must be initiated by a court-appointed trustee.

According to the criminal complaint -- Dykstra loaded up a ton of his expensive personal items into a U-Haul truck -- including furnishings and fixtures -- and sold them to an L.A. consignment store.

Officials say Dykstra was also trying to discretely sell some of the estate's property on eBay and Craigslist ... including sports memorabilia.

Dykstra is also accused of ripping out a $50,000 sink from his $18 million L.A. area mansion ... and installing it in his office in Camarillo.