Featured Image Credit: YouTube / Reckless Ben
Who'd have thought that a bunch of plastic bricks could cause so much trouble? Still, for anyone who's ever looked at the prices of Star Wars LEGO from the noughties, you'll know the average set can earn you a fair few Galactic Credits.
The bizarre case of Ben "Reckless Ben" Schneider has seen him become something of a LEGO Robin Hood, fighting for justice over a missing lot of around 780 rare Star Wars LEGO sets that's said to be worth over $200,000. That's nowhere near the most unusual part of the story, with allegations of bomb and murder threats alongside police corruption, conspiracy theories about 'Mormon Mafia', mounting lawsuits, and GoFundMe campaigns that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars being raised. Strap in because here's an entire timeline of the Reckless Ben LEGO saga.
Another name you might have heard floating around this sordid saga is Chrystal Law-Gordon. Back in February 2023, she signed an agreement with Bricks & Minifigs to operate a store in Keizer, Oregon. Founded in 2009, Bricks & Minifigs (BAM) is a new and used LEGO retailer that operates 300 franchised locations in the USA and Canada.
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Later in 2003, 89-year-old Ed Mansell consigned his impressive collection of around 780 LEGO sets to Law-Gordon's store. This was overseen by his son, Bryan Mansell, with plans to help fund his father's medical bills.
The Keizer franchise was more than happy to take the collection, even promoting it as "one of the largest private Star Wars Lego collections in the region" on social media. Although BAM would take a cut of all sales, ownership would be retained by the Mansells, and anything that went unsold would be returned to them. That's all thought to have worked until a struggling Law-Gordon wanted out, and ownership of the store was transferred to Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson in November 2024.
Although Law-Gordon is adamant she provided security footage and paperwork to prove the consignment's legitimacy, this is where people's stories start to differ.
With the unsold sets going missing, Bricks & Minifigs claimed that the Mansells would have to take up their issue with Law-Gordon, while she maintains that a corporate takeover led to Ed's collection being seized.
Bricks & Minifigs CEO Ammon McNeff said that consignments are banned by BAM's contractual agreements, but even if not, it would've been terminated by Best and Johnson taking charge.
As things have rumbled on with failed resolutions, the story of the Mansell collection landed on the radar of Reckless Ben, who used his style of gonzo journalism in an attempt to serve papers to Johnson in American Fork, Utah.
In the first of his videos, Schneider employed tactics like creating rival businesses, getting someone to dress as a UPS driver in an attempt to serve papers, and organizing lottery-style raffles. Johnson phoned American Fork police and reported Schneider's team for harassment, which resulted in Reckless Ben being arrested twice. First on March 10 for stalking and residential targeted picketing, alongside disorderly conduct and trespassing. On March 11, Reckless Ben was arrested again, this time following a judge-approved search warrant of an Airbnb he was staying at. Released bodycam footage shows one altercation where Schneider claims his shoulder was dislocated by officers.
The big turn came from Schneider's May 21 video titled "I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 of LEGO".
It was also in May 2026 that Reckless Ben claimed he'd fled to Mexico due to a warrant being out for his arrest. Despite this, a May 29 press release from the American Fork Police Department said there were no active warrants for him in Utah.
On May 30, it's said BAM filed a lawsuit that accused Schneider, Mansell, and others of coordinating a campaign of harassment and extortion against franchise owners in Utah and Oregon. Using the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, prosecutors could charge multiple individuals over allegations of racketeering.
Around this time, Schneider started a GoFundMe in support of Ed and Bryan, while the latter also broke his silence by accusing BAM of taking his family's life savings.
This brings us up to date with where we are in June 2026, with Bricks & Minifigs filing an injunction and legal takedown against Schneider's Patreon account. This is something Patreon CEO Jack Conte branded as a 'despicable maneuver' as he refused to comply.
On June 4, Bricks & Minifigs said the Keizer store would permanently shut as part of it severing its agreement with Best and Johnson, although the former is still believed to have a franchise in Eugene, Oregon.
The final updates come as Schneider shared a June 9 video saying the much-anticipated third part of his investigation wouldn't be released. Even though he's careful not to mention BAM by name, he says the ongoing lawsuit means he has to remain quiet to avoid jail time.
Still, his video directed supporters to donate to the GoFundMe, which has soared to a whopping $453,404 (at the time of writing) and continues to climb. At the time of writing, a webpage called "We Steal From Old People" is still live, created by Reckless Ben's team to mock Bricks & Minifigs.
Schneider's latest video suggests this could be it in terms of him speaking out, but with a flurry of media interest and reports of death threats still being made against BAM, the rest of the internet might not stay as quiet.
UniladTech have reached out to Bricks & Minifigs and Reckless Ben for comment.
