There’s a major update concerning the Bricks & Minifigs (BAM) controversy involving a missing Star Wars LEGO collection worth $200,000. The story was made famous by gonzo-style documentary YouTuber Benjamin “Reckless Ben” Schneider.
In the multipart documentary series, Reckless Ben accused Ammon McNeff, CEO of BAM Franchising, Inc., and his brother Matt McNeff, COO of BAM Franchising, Inc., of stealing the Star Wars LEGO collection and then lying about it.
To be fair, Reckless Ben also accused lots of other people of stealing the collection except, oddly enough, the very people most likely to have done it.
The major update is that BAM Franchising and the Mansell family, the original owners of the $200,000 Star Wars LEGO collection, have reached a resolution concerning the collection.
BAM Franchising and the Mansell family published a joint statement on the Bricks & Minifigs website.
To summarize, the joint statement blames Chrystal Law-Gorman and her husband, Benjamin Gorman, owners of the Salem/Keizer franchise, for the dispute.
It states that Chrystal Law-Gorman did not properly administer the original contract during the handoff to the replacement franchisees, Josh Johnson and Brandon Best.
It also absolves BAM, Ammon McNeff, Matt McNeff, Josh Johnson, and Brandon Best of any blame.
This is huge because Reckless Ben claimed that BAM, Ammon McNeff, Matt McNeff, Josh Johnson, and Brandon Best stole the Star Wars LEGO collection and subsequently lied about it.
This image is from Bryan Mansell’s GoFundMe page, administered by Reckless Ben. It depicts Josh Johnson looking evil and holding hundred-dollar bills while a young family looks distraught. It includes the quote, “I stole a family’s life savings.”
According to the joint statement, Josh Johnson stole nothing. That said, this image has helped Bryan Mansell’s GoFundMe raise more than $525,000 and counting.
As far as the claim that someone stole a family’s life savings is concerned, Bryan Mansell appeared on the Collecting Weekly podcast after the joint statement was published. He said the following at around the eight-minute mark:
By the way, it was not our entire life savings. All those people that are like, why would they invest their whole life savings? Ever hear of a 401K? It’s like, no, this was a small amount.
So not only did Josh Johnson not steal anything from the Mansell family, but the Star Wars LEGO collection did not represent the family’s life savings. Got it.
The joint statement confirms that the consignment contract was only between Bryan Mansell and Chrystal Law-Gorman, representing “Bricks & Minifigs – Salem/Keizer.”
“Bricks & Minifigs – Salem/Keizer” was not the legally registered name of the business owned by Chrystal Law-Gorman and Benjamin Gorman. The business was legally registered as BAMF Salem 1, LLC.
BAM, Ammon McNeff, Matt McNeff, Josh Johnson, and Brandon Best were never parties to the consignment contract.
I’m no lawyer, but I have to think this strengthens the defamation lawsuit against Reckless Ben, Victor Nguyen, and John Does 1–15. As mentioned in the joint statement, Bryan Mansell is no longer a defendant in that lawsuit. In fact, he has agreed to provide relevant records in support of BAM’s claims.
If any of those records show that Reckless Ben knew BAM, Ammon McNeff, Matt McNeff, Josh Johnson, or Brandon Best did not steal the $200,000 Star Wars LEGO collection but chose to tell everyone they did anyway, the defamation aspect of the lawsuit would appear significantly stronger.
This entire story saddens me. It illustrates how critical thinking has become a scarce commodity in our society, especially when the Internet is involved.
In the opening line of his very first video about this story, Reckless Ben claimed that 83-year-old Ed Mansell, Bryan Mansell’s father, spent his life collecting what’s now known as the world’s largest Star Wars LEGO collection ever.
How does an 83-year-old man spend his life collecting Star Wars LEGO when LEGO didn’t begin producing Star Wars merchandise until 1999?
That opening statement should have raised a massive red flag, especially among LEGO fans. The fact that it didn’t is a clear indication of just how quickly critical thinking seems to be disappearing.