Bricks & Minifigs franchisor BAM Franchising has filed a lawsuit against YouTuber Reckless Ben and others over his viral investigation into a disputed Lego Star Wars collection.
Ben, whose real name is Benjamin Schneider, went viral in May after releasing videos about a long-running dispute involving a collection of rare Lego Star Wars sets that had allegedly been placed on consignment through a Bricks & Minifigs store in Salem, Oregon.
The situation has since expanded beyond the original missing collection claims, with Schneider documenting police encounters, arrests, and a search warrant as he continued pursuing those connected to the dispute.
A family claims their $200,000 Lego Star Wars collection was withheld after a Bricks & Minifigs store changed ownership
The dispute has turned into a viral investigation by YouTuber Reckless Ben pic.twitter.com/7kiZTAISrq
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 24, 2026
Bricks & Minifigs denies stealing Lego collection
In a May 28 statement, BAM Franchising denied that corporate leadership or the new Salem franchisees knowingly stole a Lego collection worth $100,000 to $200,000.
According to BAM, the dispute began with an unauthorized local consignment arrangement between the Mansell family and former Salem franchisee Chrystal Law/Gorman.
The company said it was not a party to that alleged agreement and was unaware of it when it repossessed the store after the former owner allegedly defaulted on payments, royalties, and other obligations.
BAM also claimed the collection was not located in the store when it took possession of the Salem location. The company said it found a small number of sets, valued between $2,000 and $5,000, that could possibly be related to the Mansell collection and offered to return them, but said that offer was refused.
The company also disputed the viral $200,000 figure, saying the only documentation later provided to them put the collection’s value closer to $60,000 to $80,000. BAM further claimed a recent POS audit showed more than $50,000 worth of similar inventory was sold by Law/Gorman before corporate repossessed the store.
Dispute over $200k Lego Star Wars collection triggers lawsuits and viral investigation
Lego Pokemon Smart Play sets leave fans confused over “ugly” Pikachu & Jigglypuff designs
BAM said it is now tightening its rules around record keeping, inventory management, buy, sell, and trade transparency, and de-escalation training.
BAM lawsuit alleges defamation and harassment
In a verified complaint filed in Utah County, BAM Franchising, Ammon McNeff, Matthew McNeff, Josh Johnson, Brandon Best, and Baker Bricks sued Schneider, Reckless Ben LLC, Bryan Mansell, Victor Nguyen, and Does 1-15.
The complaint alleges that Schneider and others carried out a coordinated campaign against BAM and its franchisees through videos, in-person stunts, social media posts, merchandise, and alleged harassment.
The lawsuit claims Schneider’s videos falsely accused BAM, its corporate leadership, and the new Salem operators of stealing the collection and being involved in a cover-up. BAM argues in the complaint that the underlying issue was a private consignment dispute involving the former Salem franchisee, not an adjudicated theft by corporate or the new store owners.
The complaint also points to several alleged stunts shown or referenced in Schneider’s content, including fake raffle materials, a fake Guinness World Records-style award, disguises allegedly used to obtain signatures, signs posted near stores and homes, and the “We Steal From Old People” slogan.
BAM further alleges the videos and related attention led to real-world consequences for franchisees, employees, and families, including store disruptions, review bombing, harassment, and threats.
The lawsuit includes 13 causes of action, including Utah RICO, defamation per se, defamation, injurious falsehood, civil conspiracy, tortious interference, civil stalking, nuisance, trespass, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages, attorneys’ fees, disgorgement of profits allegedly connected to the videos and merchandise, and a court order restricting further alleged harassment, trespass, impersonation, fake documents, doxxing, signage, and related publications.
Schneider appeared on an episode of The H3 Podcast the day the lawsuit was filed and joked that the lawsuit guaranteed him at least two more years of YouTube content.
