Featured Image Credit: YouTube / Coffeezilla
We're dashing up to our attics to check out our LEGO collections, because if we've learned anything from the Ben "Reckless Ben", Bricks & Minifigs saga, it's that we could retire on the price of some sets alone.
Even though things seem to be moving at breakneck speed, the sprawling saga can be traced back to a rare collection of 780 LEGO Star Wars sets that Bryan Mansell consigned to a Keizer, Oregon, franchise of Bricks & Minifigs.
Consigning on behalf of his elderly father, Bryan hoped to pay for Ed Mansell's medical bills with the sets the latter had been collecting since Star Wars LEGO first arrived on the scene in the early noughties. Things seemed to work for a while, but when franchise owner Chrystal Law-Gorman says she wanted out, Bricks & Minifigs is accused of forcibly taking the BAM outlet. While there are plenty of allegations and defenses from both sides, the key factor is that the $200,000 collection fell into dispute and is now 'missing'.
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If you're keeping up with the complicated Reckless Ben timeline, you'll know Bricks & Minifigs has accused the YouTuber of harassment and stalking, with multiple arrests, and now a lawsuit that involves him, Bryan Mansell, and others.
Schneider said YouTube bigwigs like Coffeezilla and LegalEagle were interested in covering the case, and while the latter has already shared his own insights, the former has now entered the arena. Claiming to have 'found' the missing sets, Coffeezilla (real name Stephen Findeisen) has posted a sprawling 55-minute video that gives a comprehensive look at where everything is up to. Bricks & Minfigs’ official response stated: "After taking over the store, we discovered a small number of sets valued between $2,000 to $5,000 that could be possibly related to Mr. Manel's collection."
Of course, the full amount is said to be around 10 times that, leading to a lot of questions about what's going on. Findeisen notes that Schneider is currently involved in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit due to his original campaign to locate the LEGO, which has inadvertently pulled Mansell into the mix.
Coffeezilla even speaks with Bricks & Minifigs' CEO and COO (Ammon and Matt McNeff), who attempt to clear their name by saying they don't know where the missing sets are.
The video dives into U-Haul conspiracy theories, the 'real' price of the LEGO sets being far less than $200,000, and some sleuthing that makes us sure this whole thing will soon be a Netflix documentary.
At the time of writing, Schneider has gone quiet. Although he originally promised to release a third part of his investigation, he claims he's shutting his mouth in hopes of avoiding jail. He has made a couple of comments online about the GoFundMe in honor of Bryan and Ed, but in his 'final' video, he was careful not to mention Bricks & Minifigs.
Ultimately, Coffeezilla thinks a lot of stuff isn't adding up, but Mansell is likely out of pocket for between $50,000 and $83,000. He says he thinks BAM should make things right but added: "Bricks & Minifigs has chosen to deflect and dodge responsibility at most opportunities and created a really awful customer experience that has snowballed into this crazy series of events."
Calling their aggressive legal strategy a 'horrible idea', Findeisen continued: "As of writing this, Bryan Mansell is being sued for 1.3 million as part of a legal campaign against him and Reckless Ben and any of the associates.
"Remember, Bryan is the same guy who lost all these Legos at Bricks and Minifig store. And I told the CEO and COO that's ridiculous, and they should drop this."
Saying that LEGO stores are meant to be about fun instead of dragging people through the courts with $1.3 million lawsuits, Cofeeezilla spoke to Ammon McNeff as CEO and implored BAM to try and work things out.
Unfortunately, the case of the missing LEGO remains six of one and half a dozen of the other.
