SALT LAKE CITY — Utah-based Lego reseller Bricks and Minifigs announced Thursday it is parting ways with two franchise owners who now own the location featured in a viral YouTube video series.
The series focuses on righting an alleged botched consignment deal for a “Stars Wars” Lego collection worth between $80,000 and $200,000.
According to a press release from the company, Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson, who own the Salem, Oregon, location, entered a “mutual agreement to part ways” with the company following a series of viral videos released by YouTuber Benjamin Schneider, also known as “Reckless Ben.”
The reseller characterized the videos as “a devastating social media campaign.”
Schneider’s videos are centered on helping Bryan Mansell get Legos back that he claims were taken by the Oregon franchise. Mansell claims he made a consignment deal with the store to help sell his father’s extensive Lego collection, and when the store changed hands, that agreement wasn’t kept, and he was not given the Legos back or paid for them.
The video series included a chase that led Schneider to American Fork to track down the owners. He was arrested twice by American Fork officers and later charged with stalking, a class A misdemeanor, and targeted residential picketing, a class B misdemeanor.
Order to take down videos
Bricks and Minifigs filed a civil lawsuit against Schneider and others involved in the videos seeking over $300,000 and accusing them of defamation, disparagement, conspiracy, stalking, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf Jr. granted a temporary request ordering Schneider to take down any videos from any streaming service that “in any way relate to the private legal dispute underlying this matter between Bryan and Chrystal (the previous franchise owner) and the assertions of wrongdoing (described in the lawsuit).”
He also ordered Schneider and anyone associated with him to not contact or threaten Bricks and Minifigs employees. It specifically ordered them to not go closer than 1,000 yards from their homes or buildings, cover signs, or solicit employees to be “undercover agents” — things Schneider has done in videos he published.
At this point the judge has not considered any evidence from Schneider in his decision, Schneider will have an opportunity to present his side in a hearing on June 22, when the judge will consider whether to extend those orders throughout the course of the lawsuit.
Bricks and Minifigs invites meeting
Bricks and Minifigs’ statement said its CEO, Ammon McNeff, has invited Bryan Mansell to sit with him and review the spreadsheets and consignment agreement so they could “informally and fairly” resolve the problems between him and the earlier franchise owner — including allowing him to take every “Star Wars” Lego item in the store.
He also said the company would be willing to consider no longer naming Mansell in its lawsuit against Schneider.
McNeff said they had been asking Mansell for documentation and only recently got enough documentation to develop a “clear picture” and move forward with a resolution.
“Bryan, we continue our offer to sit down with you. … We will ensure you are compensated for anything unaccounted for, including what (the previous franchise owner) failed to compensate you for without your knowledge. We’re ready when you are,” he said.
According to the statement, the company’s investigation found “new documentation that dramatically challenges the speculative social media narrative around the Mansell collection,” including three different sets of financial records tied to the “Star Wars: collection.
It said they found “significant evidence of gross negligence in how the store was previously operated by the prior owner, as well as operational gaps during the transition and the subsequent management of document recovery.”
Along with the announcement of the closure of the Salem, Oregon, franchise and mutual separation from Johnson and Best, Bricks and Minifigs published an in-depth timeline outlining “what we presently believe to be a transparent and sourced account of events.”
The timeline claims the previous franchise owner asked to close her store and planned to move overseas, and she did not mention any consignment collection.
When Best arrived at the store, it said she was uncooperative and refused to hand over the keys. During a “chaotic handover,” they claimed a worker incorrectly assumed the consignment arrangement was authorized.
Police videos leaked
Following many appearances by American Fork police in Schneider’s videos arresting and serving a warrant on Schneider, the American Fork Police Department responded with a video explaining their role to enforce Utah’s law and published body camera footage associated with the interactions.
American Fork Police Chief Cameron Paul said in the video that its actions should not be interpreted as validating or supporting anyone involved in the civil lawsuit.
At the time, Schneider invited viewers to call for the police to release unredacted video. On Thursday, he published a new video with some of that footage he said was leaked.
In the videos, police are seen talking to Johnson, who was on the phone with the Bricks and Minifigs CEO, and they encouraged police to try to charge Schneider with something and arrest him.
After the arrest, Johnson repeatedly said he loved the officer, and “I love the American Fork Police Department.”
Schneider’s video says the new audio could explain why an officer grabbed his arm, possibly to stop him from filming. It also could give insights into an officer denying Schneider’s request to serve an Oregon lawsuit on Johnson.
Contributing: Mary Culbertson and Joe Wirthlin, KSL
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
