Through the internet, users search for the latest story. Perhaps there is a political rivalry to monitor closely. Maybe a trendy item worth investing in, maybe a stock worth selling, maybe just a reason to be riled up. Lately, attention has turned to one such story, regarding the 3rd-party LEGO scheme.
On May 21, 2026, the YouTuber by the name Reckless Ben uploaded a video titled “I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 of LEGO.” In his video, the influencer discussed his investigation of a nationwide 3rd-party LEGO franchise by the name Bricks & Minifigs (a.k.a. BAM).
Reckless Ben is known online for investigations into numerous businesses and establishments, notably those he suspects of scamming. Popular videos exploring the Church of Scientology and the McKamey Manor attraction were among his early projects that helped build his fanbase. In his most recent slew of videos, his attention was directed towards a BAM store in Salem, Oregon.
Back in November of 2023, Bryan Mansell and his father, Eric, owned a substantial LEGO “Star Wars” collection, a particularly expensive theme in the LEGO community. Seeking to sell off their collection, the Mansells cosigned an agreement with their local Salem BAM location, which valued their collection at around $200,000.
Per the agreement, the BAM store’s owners, Chrystal Law and Benjamin Gorman, would sell off the Mansells’ collection and pay them their $200,000 over time. By November of 2024, Law and Gorman had sold half the collection.
At this time, however, BAM Franchising terminated the Salem store over payment failures, effectively seizing the remainder of the Mansells’ unsold collection. At the time, the Mansells had only been paid $15,000 of the $200,000 they were owed.
Since the loss of their collection, the Mansells have attempted to fight BAM, though to little avail. While the incident drew traction from members of the LEGO community online, the public’s outlook on the company remained largely unchanged.
With his considerable viewership backing him, Reckless Ben’s first video on the BAM situation drew millions of views within weeks of its posting. After explaining the history of the issue at hand, Ben worked to track down the new owner of Salem’s BAM store.
To prove the liability of the store’s current owner, Ben acquired footage from the night Law and Gorman’s jobs were terminated. In the video, it is apparent that Law tells the store’s new owner, Brandon Best, of her consignment deal with the Mansells prior to leaving the store.
With proof that Best was aware of the deal before seizing the Mansells’ collection, Ben was able to file a lawsuit against the Salem BAM store. Unfortunately, the store would temporarily close and thus avoid legal action.
While the internet was aware of a simple scandal between a 3rd-party reseller and its unfortunate customers, attention would be renewed when Reckless Ben uploaded his second video on May 30.
Titled “I got arrested because of legos,” Ben would follow up on his original video, where he attempted to serve Brandon Best and his store’s co-owner, Joshua Johnson, a lawsuit over the Mansells’ collection.
Travelling to Utah, Ben and his team attempted to serve papers on Best and Johnson in lieu of their store’s closure. In a twist, however, the local American Fork police would pull over Ben’s car illegally, falsely accusing his driver of running a stop sign. Unusual details, such as identifying Ben immediately, would further draw suspicion to the local police force early on.
Several incursions with the police department would occur later in the video. In one instance, Ben would be pulled over again under suspicion of possessing narcotics, despite not transporting any. On one occasion, Ben’s Airbnb would be raided by the American Fork PD under suspicion of possessing the Mansells’ stolen collection.
Dashcam and bodycam footage released later would support Ben’s suspicions. Besides directly contradicting officers’ claims of him running a stop sign, numerous instances where audio was cut suggested attempts to shield their intentions behind their activity.
On March 11, 2026, tensions would climax when Ben was arrested by the American Fork PD on numerous charges, including stalking and trespassing. Though a judge would allow Ben’s release on bond, a following arrest warrant drove the YouTuber out of the state, presumably to Mexico.
Ben would clarify his suspicion of the American Fork PD during his video. He stated that Best and Johnson, whom he was attempting to serve papers to, were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Subsequently, all officers who were involved in his investigation, and who have since been identified, are members of the same church. From this information, it is Ben’s inference that the Salem BAM’s owners have communal ties to the American Fork PD.
The notion that police officers had ties to a private business, on top of their unjustifiable actions in Ben’s second video, elevated the BAM situation in many viewers’ eyes from a scam to a “rabbit hole of corruption,” as one person would comment on YouTube.
Whereas the Mansells’ efforts to regain their collection only drew minor criticism from BAM, Ben’s videos had already begun to disintegrate the company’s proud reputation as the LEGO community’s #1 3rd-party franchise.
On May 30, 2026, BAM would file a lawsuit against Reckless Ben and the Mansells over claims of harassment and similar crimes.
On June 4, 2026, BAM would announce the permanent closure of its Salem location and the firing of Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson.
Included in the announcement was a statement from BAM Franchising’s CEO, Ammon McNeff. In it, he argued that BAM hadn’t received the proper paperwork from the Mansells to justify cooperation until recently. Speaking directly to Bryan Mansell, McNeff stated, “We continue our offer to sit down with you and are prepared to discuss dropping the lawsuit against you.”
In a video titled “My final message,” Reckless Ben would announce that he’d been served a gag order by BAM. He clarified that he could no longer mention the company on YouTube or risk getting himself and his associates arrested. In addition, his GoFundMe for the Mansells, which has raised nearly $500,000, would be compromised.
For these reasons, Ben argued he couldn’t release his third video, which would have continued documenting his investigation of BAM. Despite his compliance, however, Ben’s GoFundMe has since been taken down.
Though Reckless Ben has arguably pulled the most weight in investigating BAM, many other individuals have used their platforms to shed light on the situation and proffer unique takes and information.
Given the case’s pertinence to LEGO “Star Wars” collecting, many people have turned to influencers in the field to give their thoughts. One of the most prolific of these people is MandRproductions.
MandR, or Ryan, is a mainstream LEGO “Star Wars” YouTuber with over 700,000 subscribers and videos dating back 15 years. His coverage of the theme sets, pricing and, most importantly, collecting has made him a prime voice in the AFOL (adult fan of LEGO) community.
Even more relevantly, MandR has been an outspoken proponent of BAM for many years. Besides buying LEGO sets regularly from their stores, his vlogs have shown him travelling interstate to promote individual BAM locations willingly. MandR has even spoken with CEO Ammon McNeff personally, thus strengthening his views on the company.
In spite of his history with BAM, MandR has posted several videos to date chastising the franchise and its leadership for their handling of the Mansell collection. Through connections in the LEGO community, MandR shed additional details highlighting BAM’s faults.
One such detail is the framing BAM has used to approach the ongoing scandal. In their aforementioned June 4 statement, McNeff and BAM expressed their willingness to negotiate with the Mansells. As pointed out by MandR, however, the passage pins the blame on the Salem store’s former owners numerous times.
Accusations against Law and Gorman range from their failure to disclose the consignment deal to their disinterest in remaining BAM franchisees prior to the November 2024 issue. In one bullet point, BAM even argues that Law and Gorman owed the company around $200,000, which MandR argues could easily suggest the pair had intentionally scammed the Mansells out of their own $200,000 collection for personal gain.
Another point made was the illegitimacy of the initial consignment agreement. Though Law and Gorman had made a $200,000 deal with the Mansells, MandR highlighted in BAM’s own franchisee regulations that certain consignments are prohibited. Despite this detail, the manner in which the clause was notated may have possibly confused Law and Gorman. Regardless of the hypothesis’s legitimacy, the detail further supports the Mansells’ clearance of any contractual wrongdoing.
Further points found in BAM’s lawsuit, such as the suggested entitlement to the funds the Mansells received from Reckless Ben’s GoFundMe, were also noted by MandR, who has since voiced renunciation of the company’s leadership and desires to disassociate himself from the brand, alongside many fellow AFOL influencers.
Besides those in the LEGO community, influencers from more mainstream channels have spoken out on the ongoing controversy. Voices criticising BAM have included Law by Mike, Coffeezilla, Asmongold, Ludwig, Penguinz0 and Lesson in Meme Culture, whose typically unserious topics make their own contribution all the more impactful.
Even Patreon’s CEO, Jack Conte, has spoken out on the BAM situation. Having been demonetized on YouTube, Reckless Ben has relied on Patreon to fund his filmmaking. To further fight his online campaign, BAM requested that Ben’s Patreon account be removed from the site. Surprisingly, Conte released a video on June 2, 2026, stating, “Bricks & Minifigs can stuff it,” suggesting the franchise attempt to sue Patreon instead.
Though many stories today offer two sides to a dilemma, the public opinion of Bricks & Minifigs has been overwhelmingly in favor of the Mansells. From losing its most loyal supporters to receiving national criticism, BAM may face a permanent dent in its reputation, if not worse. Without any positive revelations thus far, followers of the story may not see the situation de-escalating any time soon.
