Former LEGO franchise owner gives Brickgate update as $450,000 GoFundMe vanishes overnight
First it was 'Mormon Mafia', now it's 'Brickgate'. Either way, the Reckless Ben LEGO saga shows no sign of slowing down. This comes as Ben "Reckless Ben" Schneider has given us an update and vowed to go quiet as a hard-fought lawsuit with Bricks & Minifigs looms.
Reckless Ben is just one part of a much bigger story that involves a reported $200,0000 of Star Wars LEGO, allegations of death and bomb threats, multiple arrests, franchise closures, and a supposed Mormon Mafia.
Things all started when Bryan Mansell consigned his elderly father's 780 LEGO Star Wars sets to Chrystal Law-Gorman in 2023. Although the agreement seemed to work well for a while, things became murky when Law-Gorman and her husband say that they decided to move abroad. It's here that they allege Bricks & Minifigs forcibly took the Keizer, Oregon, branch from them. Bricks & Minifigs counters that she and Benjamin Gorman had racked up huge debt, while also maintaining that consignments are against franchise rules.
Chrystal and Benjamin have been involved in their own legal wrangling with BAM, but it was a March 2026 investigation from Reckless Ben that really blew the doors off the situation.
Benjamin Gorman calls out Bricks & Minifigs
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Law, Gorman, and their LLC filed a March 27 lawsuit, alleging that their store was wrongfully seized by BAM Franchising corporate without proper notice, that they were forced out under threats, and that they weren't compensated for confiscated assets.
Things only get more complicated due to a GoFundMe raising funds for the Mansells briefly vanishing but appearing to be back in action. Chrystal and Benjamin's own GoFundMe also remains active.
We've previously covered how the former franchise owners have put across their side of the story on YouTube, but now, Benjamin has returned to share his ongoing thoughts.
In a June 5 video, Gorman called out Bricks & Minifigs CEO Ammon McNeff, saying an appearance on a Fox News affiliate made it clear the company was trying to put the blame on him and Chrystal.
Elsewhere, BAM has permanently shuttered the Keizer store as it cut ties with new owners Joshua Johnson and Brandon Best.
Gorman alleges that BAM refused to hand over an inventory, also saying that its story continues to change. Offering his own two cents, Gorman added: "Next maybe they'll say green alien snuck into the store and beamed everything up to the mother ship. These are all distractions.
“They want you to say, 'Wow, this sure sounds like it's gotten very complicated and messy. It's too much to keep track of. Police interference and now aliens'."
Again calling BAM to task, he said: "Here's the key. They want to drag this out and make our lives sh*t. That's what they promised to do. It's what they've done and it's what they're continuing to do."
Even though Chrsytal has told him he sounds 'angry', Gorman is standing by his fight with corporate.
The latest Brickgate update
In another update, Gorman said that most have been very supportive of him and Chrystal. The likes on their first video discussing the drama sit at an overwhelmingly positive 97.8%, with him joking that in a country as politically divided as the USA, the Brickgate has become a common denominator that can join these warring sides.
Gorman says he's seen no one say that BAM is completely innocent here, with the CEO and COO reportedly admitting some wrongdoing. However, there are still trolls out there.
Appealing to viewers, Gorman explained: "If you've come to this via Brickgate, we probably both like Lego and both like Star Wars. And obviously, we both watch YouTube videos. Those have helped to put us into contact with one another.
"So, I am, if only a little bit, a part of your group, your tribe. and you looked at me getting ripped off by a huge corporation and you said, 'I may not like his politics, but I side with this guy'. Consider, maybe we agree on a lot more than that."
Sharing their support, one viewer said: "At the end of the day we can put politics aside when there is something so universally wrong happening."
Another added: "I love how this story can enter someone's domain through so many different avenues. Lego news, YouTube drama news, true crime, business, public relations, legal news, police corruption."A third concluded: "Ben has been temporarily silenced. It is great to see other podcasters picking up the slack."