Dispute over $200k Lego Star Wars collection triggers lawsuits and viral investigation

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A disagreement about a huge Lego Star Wars collection—said to be worth over $200,000—has led to legal battles, police involvement, and a popular YouTube series focusing on a Bricks & Minifigs store in Oregon.

The story revolves around Bryan Mansell and a LEGO collection inherited from his father, which was left with the Bricks & Minifigs store in Salem-Keizer, Oregon, towards the end of 2023.

Local sources say the store had an agreement that let them sell the items, but the Mansell family still owned them until each piece was bought. The store was supposed to earn a 35% cut of each sale, and any remaining sets had to be returned if the deal fell through.

In 2023, the store announced on Instagram that they had a large stock of Star Wars Lego sets, which they advertised as being valued at more than $200,000.

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A post shared by Bricks & Minifigs Salem-Keizer (@bam_salem)

Ownership change sparked dispute over Lego collection

The situation appears to have escalated following ownership changes at the store in November 2024.

Chrystal and Robert Gorman, who used to own a Bricks & Minifigs franchise, told the Salem Business Journal they were unexpectedly forced to sell their business when the company changed ownership.

The Gormans claimed they told company officials that the Mansell family owned most of the Star Wars merchandise, as it was held on consignment.

Bricks & Minifigs corporate disputes that version of events.

In a statement released in May 2026, the company said the agreement was made without their permission and that they were not involved in it. They also clarified that all franchise locations are independently owned and operated.

Bricks & Minifigs stated they weren’t involved in the unauthorized agreement regarding the Salem shipment and are not responsible for any resulting debts or commitments.

According to the Salem Business Journal, Mansell officially ended the agreement in November 2024. This came after claims of missed payments and being refused the chance to check on the remaining stock.

In a statement to SBJ, Mansell explained what happened and said he wants one of three things: a fair payment for the items in question, the return of those items, or for the store to be forced to close if they refuse to resolve the issue fairly.

Reckless Ben videos pushed story into spotlight

Things really blew up online after a YouTuber named Reckless Ben started digging into this whole situation. He made a bunch of long videos claiming the store and Bricks & Minifigs were holding onto that collection unfairly, and everyone started paying attention.

In his videos, Reckless Ben consistently claimed that the police considered his dispute a private issue, even though he believed the items taken from him were wrongfully held. He also showed several interactions with officers, including instances of being told he was trespassing, having his property searched, being arrested, and receiving legal notices related to ongoing lawsuits about the dispute.

The videos also feature accusations of police misconduct and a supposed cover-up to shield those responsible, but these claims haven’t been verified.

Still, parts of the broader dispute have been independently confirmed.

So, I drove by the Salem-Keizer BAM store and saw a sign saying it’s closed ‘until further notice’ – apparently because of everything that’s been going on. It looks like the company itself made the call to shut it down, at least for now.

According to SBJ, the Keizer police are still investigating the disagreement, and detectives are working with the Marion County District Attorney’s Office to decide if any crimes were committed.

The outlet also reported that civil litigation tied to the dispute remains ongoing.

Ben’s daring videos quickly became popular online, and he’s announced he’s making more videos about what happened.

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2026-05-24 16:49