The saga began in Oregon, where 83-year-old Ed Mansell spent roughly $20,000 over more than a decade assembling a rare Star Wars Lego collection, according to the Wall Street Journal. When his health declined in 2023, his son Bryan arranged with a Bricks & Minifigs franchise store in Keizer, Oregon, to sell the collection on consignment. The store reportedly valued the collection at $200,000 and promoted it as one of the world’s largest private Star Wars Lego collections.
The consignment arrangement fell apart when the franchise changed ownership in 2024. The new owners, according to Bryan Mansell, refused to recognize his claim on the inventory. Bricks & Minifigs later told the Journal the collection was worth only $80,000 to $100,000 and said just $20,000 to $40,000 was unaccounted for. The company has blamed the original franchisee; the original franchisee has blamed Bricks & Minifigs. Both sides are suing each other.
Benjamin Schneider, a 30-year-old Los Angeles-based YouTuber with more than 1 million subscribers who goes by “Reckless Ben,” entered the dispute after Bryan Mansell reached out to him. Schneider launched a campaign to pressure the Oregon store, at one point climbing onto its roof and draping a banner reading “We Steal from Old People” over its signage. He also filed 10 small-claims lawsuits against the business. The campaign was documented in a video titled “I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 in Lego.” The Oregon store eventually closed.
Schneider then traveled to American Fork, Utah, home to one of the two people who bought the Oregon franchise. Over four days in March, Schneider and his collaborators appeared multiple times at the franchisee’s home, according to the Journal. The owner called police and at one point told dispatchers he was going to shoot someone if the harassment did not stop. Police warned Schneider and his team not to trespass.
The YouTuber responded with further stunts, filming throughout. He and his collaborators used ruses to try to talk to the franchisee or serve legal papers, including dressing in a fake UPS cap, posing as a Mormon, and wearing a wig. They posted a sign across the street from the owner’s home featuring his image and the words “I stole a family’s life savings,” part of a GoFundMe campaign for Mansell that raised more than $500,000.
American Fork Police Chief Cameron Paul said in a 26-minute video defending his department that officers conducted traffic stops of the YouTubers, searched Schneider’s rental car for drugs (none were found), and ultimately carried out a full-scale raid of his Airbnb with long guns. The warrant, Chief Paul said, was based on a landlord’s tip that the Airbnb guests had been heard talking about stolen Legos.
Schneider was taken into custody along with four others. He faces misdemeanor charges of stalking and targeted residential picketing in American Fork and similar charges in Provo, where he went after the Bricks & Minifigs corporate offices.
The chief’s video prompted a response from Schneider, who released his own videos using body-camera footage to challenge many of Paul’s claims. Bricks & Minifigs has also filed a lawsuit against Schneider, Mansell, and others, alleging a RICO-style conspiracy to shake down the company. Both Schneider and Mansell declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing a temporary restraining order in the case, the Journal reported.
The episode has shaken some American Fork residents. Taylor Reece, 29, who posts Lego videos under the handle “Sweece’s Pieces,” told the Journal she had always felt well-protected by local police but found the raid alarming. “All my interactions with the department were awesome,” she said. “It’s definitely alarming.”
Protesters marched last Saturday from a downtown park to the police station chanting “Brick by Brick,” with Schneider in attendance. A city council meeting became a venue for debating police conduct. “Stop shielding the AFPD and initiate a formal independent third-party audit,” said Alex Sabin, a 35-year-old retail store manager, according to the Journal.
Schneider’s videos of the Lego mission and its aftermath have generated more than 25 million views. He told the Journal he did not hold a grudge against the town, saying the people were friendly and the scenery beautiful. “Can’t say the same for the police department, but everything else was amazing!” he wrote.