Bricks and Minifigs vs. Reckless Ben: Here’s the latest drama
YouTuber Ben “Reckless Ben” Schneider effectively went silent on the case on June 9, 2026, telling viewers he is “no longer allowed to even mention this mystery company”
The viral LEGO drama just took its strangest turn yet.
On June 9, 2026, YouTuber Ben Schneider, better known as Reckless Ben, the creator whose five investigation videos turned a regional Oregon LEGO consignment dispute into a multi-million-view national story, posted what appears to be his final video on the case.
The reason was not exhaustion. It was litigation.
Per Schneider, Bricks and Minifigs‘ active Utah RICO lawsuit against him has forced him to stop talking about the company entirely because continuing would put his friends, his co-defendants, and the $445,000-plus Mansell family GoFundMe at risk.
Schneider’s direct quote from the June 9 video:
“Normally, I would be like, screw the big guy telling me what to do. I’m going to do what’s morally right. But in this situation, if I do that, then all my friends get screwed with this lawsuit, and we lose all the GoFundMe money we raised like immediately. So, uh, I am no longer allowed to even mention this mystery company.“
BAM’s litigation strategy worked. The internet’s most active creator on the case is going quiet.
Where things actually stand as of June 9
The current state of the dispute, with verified facts only:
BAM permanently closed its Salem, Oregon store (also referred to as the Keizer location) on June 4, 2026
BAM has “mutually agreed to part ways“ with the Salem franchise owners Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson (Best still owns the Eugene, Oregon BAM)
BAM dropped its lawsuit against Bryan Mansell and has agreed to compensate him
BAM’s Utah RICO lawsuit against Schneider, Mansell, Law-Gorman, and other co-defendants in the Fourth District Court of Utah remains active
The lawsuit specifically alleges defamation, profiteering, racketeering, and harassment including bomb and death threats
The Mansell family GoFundMe has exceeded $445,000 as of June 9
Patreon CEO Jack Conte publicly refused to remove Schneider’s account on June 3 after BAM filed a takedown request
An independently owned Bricks and Minifigs franchise in Sacramento, California is temporarily closing for at least one week starting June 13, reopening June 19, due to harassment and death threats
A second independent franchise in San Luis Obispo has also reported receiving harassing calls
Neighboring Utah police departments with no connection to the case are reportedly being inundated with abusive calls
Schneider has publicly opposed harassment of innocent franchises throughout
BAM CEO Ammon McNeff has revised his stated collection valuation upward from $60,000-$80,000 to $95,000-$100,000
Schneider’s June 8 court date for the original March misdemeanor charges was scheduled (his “fled to Mexico” claim makes it unclear whether he appeared)
Schneider posted what may be his final video on June 9, saying he is no longer allowed to talk about BAM
The story is no longer about whether the collection was stolen. The story is now about whether litigation can effectively silence a viral content creator who refused to back down through arrests, raids, a defamation lawsuit, and a Patreon takedown attempt.
What happened with Patreon
The Patreon angle is the most underreported part of the story.
Per a June 3, 2026 YouTube video from Patreon CEO Jack Conte, Patreon received an “official takedown request“ from Bricks and Minifigs on May 29, 2026 seeking removal of Schneider’s Patreon account and content. The takedown package included “a complaint, a request for immediate content removal tied to a temporary restraining order, and a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction“ per the documents Conte displayed in the video.
After what Conte described as an extensive review by Patreon’s Trust and Safety team, the company refused to comply.
Conte’s full quote per Dexerto and Kotaku: “Bricks and Minifigs can stuff it. We are keeping Ben’s page up. And if Bricks and Minifigs doesn’t like that, they can sue us.“
The Patreon refusal was a significant Streisand-effect moment. It elevated Schneider’s profile, gave him a corporate ally with platform power, and demonstrated that BAM’s deplatforming strategy was not going to succeed. The lawsuit itself is now doing what the Patreon takedown could not, preventing Schneider from posting new content because the legal exposure would affect his co-defendants and the GoFundMe funds.
The Sacramento closure is not what BAM corporate planned
Two BAM stores have shut down. They are different kinds of shutdowns and they matter for different reasons.
The Salem, Oregon closure was mandated by BAM Corporate as part of the June 4 announcement parting ways with Best and Johnson. It is the franchise at the center of the dispute. The shutdown is permanent.
The Sacramento, California closure is self-imposed by the independent franchise owner for safety. The Sacramento BAM has no connection to the Mansell dispute. Per the franchise’s own June 4 announcement, they are closing for the week of June 13 through June 19 due to harassment and death threats they have received from people on the internet who appear to be unable to distinguish between BAM Corporate, the Salem franchisees, and the dozens of unrelated independently-owned franchises across the country.
Per Wikipedia’s reporting, a third franchise in San Luis Obispo, California has also received harassing calls but has not announced a closure.
Schneider has publicly opposed harassment of innocent franchises in multiple videos and interviews. His direct quote to ABC4 Utah: “There’s lots of innocent Bricks and Minifigs franchises out there that did nothing wrong. And there’s a lot of innocent people that are getting harassment because of this, which is not the intention.“
The Sacramento and San Luis Obispo situations are exactly the kind of collateral damage Schneider has explicitly tried to discourage. Whether BAM’s RICO lawsuit successfully argues that Schneider should be held responsible for harassment he publicly opposed is one of the harder legal questions in the case.
The timeline
The dispute spans approximately three years across two states with escalating intensity in the final two months.
Late 2023: Bryan Mansell and his 83-year-old father Eric Mansell consign their Star Wars LEGO collection to the Bricks and Minifigs Keizer, Oregon franchise. Per Schneider’s framing, the collection is valued at approximately $200,000. Per BAM CEO McNeff’s evolving public valuations, the collection is worth $60,000-$80,000 (May 29 livestream) revised later to $95,000-$100,000. The original franchise is operated by Chrystal Law-Gorman under her LLC.
November 8, 2024: Per BAM’s June 4 disclosure, Law-Gorman formally notifies BAM Corporate she cannot continue, citing financial struggles and an out-of-country job offer received by partner Benjamin Gorman. Per Law-Gorman’s later lawsuit, BAM Corporate “abruptly seized our business, changed the locks, confiscated our inventory, and publicly accused us of theft“ without prior notice, compensation, or due process. The two accounts of November 2024 are not reconcilable.
November 2024: BAM transfers franchise ownership of the Keizer store to Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson under Johnson’s LLC.
Late 2024 to early 2025: Per Mansell, the new operators refuse to return unsold consigned inventory or honor the consignment contract. Per Mansell, he is told he is banned from the store and that to recover his property he would need to sue a “$400 million company.” Per Mansell, his initial outreach to multiple YouTubers results in coverage that gets taken down after BAM threatens those creators with lawsuits.
Mid-2025 to mid-May 2026: Mansell contacts Ben Schneider (Reckless Ben).
Mid-May 2026: Schneider publishes the first of what would become five investigation videos on his YouTube channel. Each video accumulates over 1 million views. Schneider’s coverage includes publicity stunts including a lottery-style raffle and a mock rival business named “We Steal From Old People.”
March 8, 2026: Schneider’s first American Fork Police Department traffic stop. Per AFPD, for a stop sign violation. Per Schneider, pretextual.
March 10, 2026: Schneider is arrested in American Fork, Utah, on misdemeanor charges of stalking, targeted residential picketing, disorderly conduct, and criminal trespass. Per AFPD, charges stem from repeated visits to Joshua Johnson’s home including photographing the property, delivering packages, and placing signs near the home after prior warnings.
March 11, 2026: Second arrest. AFPD obtains a judge-approved search warrant for Schneider’s Airbnb. Schneider and four associates are arrested. All four associates are later released. Schneider is held.
March 27, 2026: Chrystal Law-Gorman and her LLC file a civil lawsuit against BAM Franchising in Oregon, alleging wrongful franchise termination, illegal asset seizure, threats of police action, and lack of compensation.
May 27, 2026: BAM Franchising and current Salem owners (Best, Johnson, and the McNeff brothers personally) file a Utah RICO lawsuit in the Fourth District Court of Utah against Schneider, Mansell, and others, alleging “a coordinated campaign of defamation, harassment, trespassing, and extortion“ including bomb and death threats.
May 29, 2026: AFPD Chief Cameron Paul releases a 26-minute public statement defending the department’s actions. AFPD explicitly states there are no active warrants for Schneider in Utah.
May 29, 2026: BAM CEO Ammon McNeff appears in a livestream interview claiming the collection’s value is between $60,000 and $80,000 and that BAM Franchising had no knowledge of the disputed consignment.
May 29, 2026: BAM submits an “official takedown request“ to Patreon seeking removal of Schneider’s account, including a temporary restraining order motion and preliminary injunction request.
May 30, 2026: BAM files an additional lawsuit against Schneider per the Wikipedia article on the controversy.
May 31, 2026: Per Kotaku‘s Lewis Parker, Schneider claims to have “fled to Mexico“ out of fear of further police action. Other outlets report this with careful “claimed” framing.
June 1, 2026: Schneider posts a point-by-point video rebuttal to the AFPD chief’s statement. The rebuttal gains 1.8 million views in 24 hours.
June 2, 2026: TechDirt publishes a comprehensive case analysis describing Schneider as a “Temu Nathan Fielder“ and arguing that everyone involved should have spoken to an attorney earlier.
June 3, 2026: Patreon CEO Jack Conte posts the “Bricks and Minifigs can stuff it“ video refusing to remove Schneider’s account.
June 3, 2026: GoFundMe for the Mansell family exceeds $350,000.
June 4, 2026: BAM issues corporate disclosure announcing the permanent Salem closure, the parting with Best and Johnson, the lawsuit drop against Mansell, and the agreement to compensate Mansell. BAM maintains the Law-Gorman “Unauthorized Consignment Arrangement” framing and claims Law-Gorman sold over $52,000 worth of Mansell’s LEGO sets before the franchise transition. McNeff’s stated collection valuation is now revised to $95,000-$100,000.
June 4, 2026: Reckless Ben responds to ABC4 Utah: “This shows how powerful the internet really is.“
June 4, 2026: An independently owned Bricks and Minifigs franchise in Sacramento, California announces it will temporarily close for at least one week starting June 13 due to harassment and death threats. A second franchise in San Luis Obispo also reports receiving harassing calls.
June 8, 2026: Schneider’s scheduled court date for the original March misdemeanor charges. Public docket update not yet available.
June 9, 2026: Schneider posts his “final video” stating he is no longer allowed to mention BAM due to the active lawsuit. GoFundMe exceeds $445,000. Civil rights lawyers reportedly offer opinions that Schneider’s original arrest could have been illegal.
What BAM is saying
Per the June 4 corporate disclosure and the May 29 McNeff livestream, BAM’s framing is:
The original franchise operator (Law-Gorman) ran an unauthorized consignment business
BAM Franchising had no knowledge of the consignment agreement
BAM lawfully terminated the franchise per its contract rights
BAM found “little Star Wars LEGO inventory remaining“ when it took back the Keizer store in November 2024
Law-Gorman sold over $52,000 worth of Mansell’s LEGO sets before the separation
The collection’s actual value is $95,000-$100,000, not $200,000 (revised upward from earlier $60,000-$80,000 figure)
BAM is willing to compensate Mansell as a “good faith resolution“
The Salem closure and parting with Best and Johnson is a mutual decision driven by the social media campaign
Per BAM’s Utah RICO lawsuit, Schneider, Mansell, and others have engaged in coordinated defamation, harassment, trespassing, extortion, and bomb and death threats against company officials and franchise owners.
What the other side is saying
Chrystal Law-Gorman: BAM Corporate seized her business without notice and refused compensation. Law-Gorman has released images of her original franchise contract on Reddit showing language stating that the “franchisee may also offer“ consignment services, contradicting BAM’s claim that consignment was unauthorized.
Bryan Mansell: The collection is worth approximately $200,000 and was never returned after the franchise change. Mansell helped Schneider win a default judgment in Oregon court before Schneider came to Utah.
Ben Schneider (per his June 9 video and ABC4 interview): The lawsuit is preventing him from saying more publicly. Per Schneider on the final video: “I am no longer allowed to even mention this mystery company.“ Schneider has also explicitly opposed harassment of innocent franchises throughout, has said he filmed everything he did during the investigation and can prove he made no threats, and has said he was “not given a chance to share my side“ with the court before BAM’s restraining order motion advanced.
The Patreon, Sacramento, and police-call backfires
Three things have not worked the way BAM presumably hoped.
The Patreon takedown elevated Schneider’s profile by drawing in Jack Conte, a CEO who runs a platform with a substantial creator-rights identity. Conte’s public refusal turned a BAM legal filing into a national media moment about whether large corporations should be able to silence creators through Patreon takedown requests.
The Sacramento and San Luis Obispo harassment demonstrates that the situation has metastasized beyond what Schneider, BAM, or anyone else can control. Independent franchise owners with no connection to the Mansell dispute are receiving death threats. Schneider has publicly opposed this. BAM’s RICO lawsuit is implicitly trying to hold Schneider responsible for it anyway. The optics for both sides are bad.
The police department call volume issue is its own backfire. Neighboring Utah police agencies with no involvement in the Mansell case are being inundated with calls, some abusive, from internet observers. This raises the possibility that 911 response times in the Utah Valley region have been materially affected by the dispute. That is not a winning narrative for anyone.
What has not been adjudicated
The court has not ruled on:
The collection’s actual value. $200,000 vs $95,000-100,000 (BAM’s current claim) vs $60,000-80,000 (BAM’s earlier claim) is unresolved.
Whether the consignment was authorized. BAM says no. The Law-Gorman contract images suggest yes. The Oregon civil case will decide.
Whether BAM’s November 2024 takeover was lawful. Pending in the Oregon lawsuit.
Whether Schneider’s conduct crossed into stalking. Pending Utah criminal proceedings.
Whether the AFPD response was biased. AFPD denies. Schneider alleges. Civil rights lawyers have weighed in informally. No formal investigation is active.
Whether the BAM RICO claim against Schneider has merit. Lawsuit ongoing.
Whether Schneider can be held legally responsible for bomb and death threats he publicly opposed. This is the central question for the RICO theory.
Where this goes from here
Schneider is silenced for the foreseeable future. The Utah RICO lawsuit will likely take months to a year to reach any meaningful resolution. The Mansell family will receive some compensation per BAM’s June 4 disclosure, though the amount and timing are not public. Law-Gorman’s separate Oregon lawsuit against BAM Franchising continues. Best and Johnson are out as Salem franchisees but Best still operates the Eugene BAM. The Sacramento store closes June 13 and plans to reopen June 19. The Patreon dispute is unresolved but Patreon has publicly committed to Schneider.
This is the rare consumer-products dispute that has produced active multi-jurisdictional litigation, a Wikipedia article (”Bricks & Minifigs–Reckless Ben controversy“), millions of YouTube views, an explicit “Mormon Mafia” conspiracy subplot, a 26-minute police chief video response, a Patreon CEO going to bat for a single creator, harassment-driven franchise closures in two states, public 911 response concerns, and a viral creator being effectively silenced by litigation despite being on the apparent right side of public opinion.
The next phase of the story is whether the lawsuit actually goes to discovery and trial, or whether BAM and Schneider end up settling out of court once the news cycle moves on. The Mansell family already won the practical victory. BAM already paid public reputation cost. The remaining question is whether the company that spent the past two months getting flayed by the internet will get to use the court system to recover damages from the creator who flayed them, or whether the legal system will eventually rule that BAM was actually the party in the wrong all along.
The internet will keep watching. Schneider just will not be the one narrating anymore.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
D/REZZED is part of Clownfish TV. For more news, views, and rants on gaming, tech, and pop culture, visit clownfishtv.com. Watch the show on YouTube at @ClownfishTV where new episodes drop daily. Subscribe to the Clownfish TV podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever else you get your podcasts. Sign up for the free newsletter at more.clownfishtv.com.
Hat Tips:
Sportskeeda (June 9, 2026), primary verified source for Reckless Ben’s June 9 “final video” including the direct quote that he is “no longer allowed to even mention this mystery company” because continuing would jeopardize his friends and the GoFundMe funds
UNILAD Tech (June 9, 2026), verified Schneider June 9 video coverage including the GoFundMe over $445,000 figure, the civil rights lawyers’ opinions that Schneider’s arrest may have been illegal, and the broader context of Schneider going quiet after BAM RICO filing
Patreon / Jack Conte YouTube (June 3, 2026), primary verified source for Patreon CEO Jack Conte’s public refusal of the BAM May 29 takedown request including the full “Bricks and Minifigs can stuff it. We are keeping Ben’s page up. And if Bricks and Minifigs doesn’t like that, they can sue us” quote
Dexerto (June 3, 2026), verified Patreon CEO Jack Conte refusal coverage including the takedown request documents and the temporary restraining order framing
Kotaku / Lewis Parker (June 1-3, 2026), verified the Schneider “fled to Mexico” claim, the Patreon CEO defense framing, and the broader Mormon Mafia conspiracy context
Wikipedia (June 2026), primary verified source for the Bricks & Minifigs–Reckless Ben controversy article including the Sacramento and San Luis Obispo franchise harassment closures, the McNeff valuation revision from $60,000-$80,000 to $95,000-$100,000, the May 29 McNeff livestream, and the neighboring Utah police department call volume context
Bricks and Minifigs Corporate / Ammon McNeff (June 4, 2026), primary verified source for the company’s official media release including the permanent Salem store closure, the mutual parting with Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson, the dropped lawsuit against Bryan Mansell, the agreement to compensate Mansell, the Law-Gorman “Unauthorized Consignment Arrangement” framing, and the $52,000 sold-LEGO claim
KATU / KSL.com / Deseret News (June 2026), verified local Utah and Oregon news reporting on the dispute including the BAM corporate framing of franchise termination
American Fork Police Department / Chief Cameron Paul (May 29, 2026), primary verified source for the 26-minute public statement defending department actions and confirming no active warrants for Schneider in Utah
American Fork Citizen (June 3, 2026), verified Schneider point-by-point rebuttal video coverage including the 1.8 million views in 24 hours
ABC4 Utah (June 4-6, 2026), verified Schneider direct quotes including “This shows how powerful the internet really is,” “I just thought it was such a crazy level of injustice,” and the opposition-to-harassment quote about innocent franchises
Gizmodo (June 5, 2026), verified that Schneider has published five investigation videos each over 1 million views
TechDirt (June 2, 2026), verified case analysis framing including the “Temu Nathan Fielder” Schneider characterization
ResetEra LegoDrama thread (May-June 2026), verified broader fan community reaction including the franchisee contract Reddit images that contradict the BAM unauthorized consignment claim
Utah Fourth District Court Case No. 260402353, verified the May 27, 2026 Utah RICO lawsuit including the bomb and death threats allegations and the Brandon Best, Joshua Johnson, and McNeff brothers personally named as plaintiffs