where-is-my-lego

For about 25 years, a man and his father built something together one brick at a time — a LEGO Star Wars collection of roughly 780 sets and 1,200 minifigures, the work of a quarter-century of weekends. The father is now reported to be around 83. In 2023 the family consigned the collection to a local LEGO resale shop to sell, under a signed contract that said any unsold sets stayed their property. Then the shop changed hands in a business dispute — and the family says their life's collection was never returned. One family's effort to get it back drew in a YouTuber, and from there it snowballed into a viral investigation, two arrests, a police-conduct controversy, and a 13-count lawsuit spanning two states. Underneath the legal filings and the viral noise, it began as something simple: a family trying to get back what they built.

What follows is the complete, sourced record — first the story in plain terms, then every name, date, and figure, then the detailed files behind each claim.

This repository is an archival research record of everything that followed — the Bricks & Minifigs (BAM) – "Reckless Ben" controversy: a public dispute over that LEGO Star Wars collection (family-valued at ~$200,000; see the value dispute below) consigned to a Bricks & Minifigs franchise in Keizer/Salem, Oregon, which escalated into a viral YouTube investigation, criminal charges against YouTuber Benjamin "Reckless Ben" Schneider in Utah, a law-enforcement controversy involving the American Fork Police Department, and a multi-count civil lawsuit filed in Utah County.

This is a research archive, not advocacy. Every substantive claim below is attributed to a public source and is labeled CONFIRMED (documented by court records, agency statements, or multiple independent outlets) or ALLEGATION (a contested contention by one side, not adjudicated). As of the compilation date, no court had found any party liable. Please read DISCLAIMER.md before using anything here.

Compiled: 2026-06-03 · Last updated: 2026-06-11 · Status of matter: active civil litigation + pending criminal matter

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The story in plain terms

If the names and legal terms below get confusing, this is the whole thing in four beats:

• Who. Collector Bryan Mansell and his father (reported to be ~83), who spent about 25 years building a LEGO Star Wars collection together.
• What the family says happened. They consigned the collection to a Bricks & Minifigs shop in Keizer/Salem, Oregon. The shop later changed hands in a separate business dispute, and the family says the unsold sets — still theirs under the signed contract — were never given back. (BAM denies any theft and says only a small remnant was ever at the store. Nothing has been decided by a court.)
• How it blew up. YouTuber Benjamin "Reckless Ben" Schneider made a video about it that went viral (~3M views), raised six figures on a GoFundMe for the family, and traveled to Utah to confront a store-side figure — where he was arrested twice and a residence was searched (the warrant return reported nothing seized). The case sparked national backlash against the American Fork Police Department.
• Where it stands now. BAM is suing Schneider, Mansell, and others in Utah — 13 causes of action (case no. 260402353, Judge Tony F. Graf Jr.). On June 4, 2026 BAM said it had "parted ways" (a mutual separation) with the two Salem franchise owners, Joshua Johnson and Brandon Best, and permanently closed the Salem store; CEO Ammon McNeff also said BAM was prepared to discuss dropping the suit against Mansell — though no source shows Mansell accepting or anyone being dismissed. On June 8, 2026 the court granted BAM an alternative-service order to serve the defendants — including Mansell — by alternative means, so the suit is proceeding against him at the service stage. A preliminary-injunction hearing is reported for June 22, 2026 (⚠ press dates conflict — one outlet says June 30), when the court will weigh whether to extend the May 28 TRO for the rest of the case — Schneider's first chance to be heard (separate from his July 1 criminal appearance). Every side disputes the other's version, and no court has found anyone liable.

Why it's hard to follow: the dispute spans two states (Oregon and Utah), two lawsuits (the family/BAM fight and a separate former-franchisee suit), a criminal case, and a police controversy — but they all trace back to that one consigned collection. The detailed record is below.

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Index

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The full summary (every name, date, and figure)

The build (1999–2023). Over roughly a quarter-century, collector Bryan Mansell and his father — reported to be around 83 — assembled one of the more complete private LEGO Star Wars collections anywhere: about 780 sets and 1,200 minifigures, down to a still-sealed Cloud City (set 10123). In November 2023 they consigned it to a Bricks & Minifigs franchise in the Salem/Keizer, Oregon area, then run by franchisees Chrystal Law-Gorman and her husband Benjamin "Ben" Gorman. The signed agreement let the store keep 35% of gross sales (65% to the family), paid monthly, and — the clause that matters most now — said any unsold sets remained the family's property. The collection was family-valued at ~$200,000, but that figure is disputed: BAM and an inventory estimate put it far lower, roughly $60K–$98K. (The signed consignment is CONFIRMED.)

The turn (Nov 2024). A year later the franchise changed hands. BAM corporate issued a reported "Notice of Immediate Termination," repossessed the store from the Gormans over alleged unpaid installments and royalties, and the location was tied to a new entity, Baker Bricks LLC (Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson). The Gormans say BAM breached first; BAM says they defaulted — both sides' reasons are contested (ALLEGATION). From here the family alleged the unsold collection was never returned. BAM denies any theft, saying only a small remnant (~$2,000–$5,000 worth) was ever at the store, which it offered to return. No court has decided it.

The Utah trip and the arrests (March 2026). Months before the video that made this famous, YouTuber Benjamin "Reckless Ben" Schneider traveled to American Fork, Utah, where Joshua Johnson lives. Johnson reportedly contacted the American Fork Police Department about four times describing the conduct as harassment; Schneider says he was there to serve civil papers. He was arrested twice (March 10–11, 2026) on misdemeanor charges — first for stalking, targeted residential picketing, disorderly conduct, and criminal trespass; then, after a judge approved a search warrant for his Airbnb (the affidavit cited an overheard remark about "possible stolen Lego"), a second time, and was booked into the Utah County Jail. The warrant return reported "no items seized." (The two arrests are CONFIRMED; the exact dates are ⚠ disputed across outlets.) Mid-June reporting (KSL) later clarified the charges actually split across two separate criminal cases — the American Fork case (stalking

• targeted residential picketing, charged ~Mar 27) and a separate Provo Justice Court case (disorderly conduct + trespass, charged ~Apr 7) tied to a Dec 10, 2025 visit to BAM's corporate office — a split the early coverage had blurred (Reported; see the timeline).

It goes viral (May 21, 2026). The local contract fight became a national story when Schneider posted "I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 of LEGO" — reported at about 3.1 million views in two weeks. A six-figure GoFundMe for the family blew past $100,000 (and, by reporting around June 3–4, over $300,000, and by June 8 over $445,000 — ⚠ those higher figures are single-outlet).

The police backlash (late May 2026). As the video collided with the arrest record, public anger turned on the American Fork Police Department. AFPD released body-cam footage and a news release on May 29; Chief Cameron Paul posted a ~26-minute statement; BAM CEO Ammon McNeff appeared in a livestream, apologized to the family, and offered mediation. It spilled offline — "Mormon Mafia" trended and Central Utah 911 reported a call surge — while AFPD maintained it had enforced Utah law within its jurisdiction. In early June the harassment spread to uninvolved BAM franchises — a Sacramento store announced a week-long closure after staff reported threats (CONFIRMED by multiple local outlets), with stores in San Luis Obispo and central Ohio also reporting controversy-driven calls and backlash — a concrete spillover harm of the pile-on. On June 9, 2026 the backlash reached the city's own forum: members of the public spoke in support of Schneider at an American Fork City Council meeting and pressed for an independent review of AFPD's conduct, though the city announced no investigation. Whether police acted improperly is unadjudicated.

The lawsuit and the "parting" (late May–June 2026). On May 27, 2026, BAM Franchising and associated individuals sued Schneider and others in Utah Fourth District Court (case no. 260402353, confirmed against a signed court order; see lawsuit/court-documents.md) — 13 causes of action, including a Utah RICO "pattern of unlawful activity," defamation per se, civil stalking, and trespass, with BAM calling the campaign a "coordinated, viral extortion." A TRO followed around May 28. BAM denies any theft; Schneider and the Mansell family deny the harassment/extortion framing, casting his actions as serving legal papers and investigating the missing collection — and those allegations are unproven. On June 4, 2026, BAM announced (via a BusinessWire press release and company blog) that it had "parted ways" — described as a mutual separation — with the Salem franchise owners Joshua Johnson and Brandon Best and permanently closed the Salem store, citing "a devastating social media campaign." In the same statements BAM re-valued the collection at $95,000–$100,000 (calling the ~$200,000 figure "promotional"), framed the consignment as an "unauthorized" side-deal predating Best/Johnson (a characterization Techdirt's June 2 reporting disputes), and said CEO Ammon McNeff was "prepared to discuss dropping the lawsuit against" Mansell and making him whole. ⚠ That offer is unilateral: no source shows Mansell accepting, the suit being dropped, or any party being dismissed, and the matter remains unresolved. On June 8, 2026, Judge Tony F. Graf Jr. granted BAM an order for alternative service ("Order Granting Ex Parte Motion Regarding Alternative Service," Tier 3, case 260402353), authorizing the plaintiffs to serve the defendants — Schneider/Reckless Ben LLC, Mansell, and Nguyen — by alternative means after personal service was not effected. The order shows the suit (including the claim against Mansell) proceeding at the service stage despite the Jun 4 "discuss dropping" offer. ⚠ This order is sourced to a single court-document image; the case, caption, and number are independently corroborated, but cross-check the order against Utah XChange.

On June 9, 2026, Schneider posted a short video ("bad news") saying he would not release "Part 3" of his investigation and could not discuss the case under the court order — effectively halting his public coverage. (He frames a violation as risking jail, his own lawsuit, and the family's GoFundMe; those are his characterizations, and no contempt finding has been reported.) Around the same time, the GoFundMe for the family — live and showing ~$442K in a June 8 archived snapshot (reported peak ~$454K) — stopped resolving, returning GoFundMe's generic "Page not found." The outage proved temporary: on June 10 Schneider posted "GoFundMe is back up!", and the page was confirmed live again the same day at $465K+ of a (raised) $500K goal. ⚠ Why it vanished — and what restored it — is unconfirmed: next-day coverage floated a platform takedown under the TRO, a frozen page, or the organizer removing it, without confirming any; the signed TRO itself names no fundraiser; a bare 404 cannot distinguish the possibilities; and Schneider says only that "maybe some day" he'll be allowed to explain. A preliminary-injunction hearing is reported for June 22, 2026 (⚠ press dates conflict — one outlet says June 30), when Judge Graf will weigh whether to extend the May 28 TRO for the rest of the case and Schneider gets his first chance to be heard (separate from his July 1 criminal appearance).

Methodology & a note on what is not here

• Sources are reputable secondary reporting (Wikipedia, Dexerto, ABC4, Salt Lake Tribune, Yahoo/In Touch, The Express Tribune, Brick Fanatics, Kotaku, Primetimer, NewsNation, American Fork Citizen), the parties' own public statements, and references to the public court docket.
• The compilation environment had no outbound network access (egress allowlist), so media and court documents are cataloged by link rather than re-hosted. Court filings can be obtained from the official systems noted in lawsuit/court-documents.md.
• No private personal information (home addresses, personal phone numbers, family details, workplace schedules, etc.) about any individual — private citizen or police officer — is collected here. Individuals appear only in their public roles and public statements. This is a deliberate scope choice: doxxing and harassment are themselves contested allegations in this case, and a PII-aggregating "dossier" would be both unethical and self-discrediting as a record.