A retired family’s decades-long dream sits at the heart of one of 2026’s wildest internet battles. Eric Mansell, 83, and his son Bryan built a massive Star Wars LEGO collection starting in the early 2000s, hoping the sealed sets and 1,200+ minifigures would fund their grandchildren’s education. They valued it between $100,000 and $200,000. Now that collection has vanished into a storm of lawsuits, arrests, viral videos, and corporate pushback.
In late 2023, Bryan consigned the collection to a Bricks & Minifigs franchise store in Keizer, Oregon. The written agreement gave the store 35% commission while the Mansells kept ownership of unsold items. Everything ran smoothly until the franchise changed hands in November 2024.
When BAM Franchising repossessed the store from operators Chrystal Law and Benjamin Gorman over alleged unpaid fees, the situation unraveled. The Mansells claim most of their collection was never returned. Some sets reportedly stayed visible in the store afterward. BAM insists the consignment was unauthorized by corporate policy, disputes the $200K valuation as inflated citing figures closer to $60K-$80K and says they only located a small portion worth $2K-$5K, which they offered to return.
“YouTuber Benjamin Schneider, known as Reckless Ben, jumped in after the family reached out,” reports Dexerto. His May 21, 2026, video titled “I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 of LEGO” exploded online with millions of views. It featured contracts, recordings, and on-site confrontations. Follow-up videos showed protests, stunts like a fake “We Steal From Old People” store, and his own arrests in Utah on charges including stalking and targeted residential picketing.
On May 27, 2026, BAM Franchising filed a 13-count lawsuit in Utah County District Court against Schneider, Bryan Mansell, and others. The claims include defamation, harassment, civil conspiracy, RICO violations, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The company accuses the group of orchestrating a campaign that led to review bombing, store disruptions, and threats to franchisees.
BAM CEO Ammon McNeff’s side maintains corporate had no direct role in the original agreement. “The consignment was unauthorized,” their statements emphasize, while denying any theft.
Reckless Ben and the Mansells push back hard. They argue the new operators and corporate took control of the property and failed to honor the consignment terms. A small-claims case brought by the Mansells reportedly ended in a default judgment.
Public reaction on X has leaned heavily toward Reckless Ben. Users called the lawsuit self-destructive for the franchise. Patreon CEO Jack Conte rejected BAM’s takedown request in a blunt video:
“Bricks & Minifigs can stuff it. We’re keeping Ben’s page up.”
This saga strikes a nerve with Americans tired of big organizations and drawn to independent creators taking on powerful players. As one legal analyst noted,
“Nothing here is decided; a complaint is one side talking.”
The question now facing courts and the public is simple: what really happened to the missing LEGO collection? The fight continues.
