A California YouTuber caught up in an increasingly strange fight over a missing $200,000 Star Wars LEGO collection says he has fled to Mexico, after a growing legal clash escalated into criminal charges and transformed a local business disagreement into a viral online spectacle.
The dispute started when Benjamin Paul Schneider — better known on YouTube as “Reckless Ben” — accused Bricks & Minifigs (BAM), one of the largest LEGO resale chains in the United States, of wrongly taking control of the valuable collection. His claims quickly triggered widespread backlash online and intense scrutiny of the company.
What began as a single store conflict has since expanded far beyond the original allegations, with BAM locations around the country reporting threats and harassment. In Sacramento, BAM Pocket Sacramento said it would shut down temporarily for a week beginning Saturday after employees and their relatives were reportedly targeted.
“This is not about the controversy itself. People are entitled to their opinions, but our Sacramento store was not involved in that situation. We are a local family business, and the harassment being directed at our employees and family is taking a real toll,” the area’s general manager told CBS Sacramento.
In a separate interview, he added: “We want the harassment to stop.”
The conflict traces back to 2023, when Bryan Mansell and his father allegedly signed a consignment agreement with a Bricks & Minifigs store in Keizer, Oregon. According to the allegations, the situation changed dramatically in late 2024, when BAM corporate suddenly ended the franchise owners’ agreement and placed the store under new management.
When the new owners allegedly said they had no knowledge of the arrangement, Reckless Ben launched a series of viral documentary-style videos investigating what happened to the collection.
The YouTuber confronted store owners, traveled to BAM’s Utah headquarters and staged protests outside the home of a company owner. He also published police body-camera footage as part of his campaign against the company.
Authorities in Utah allegedly released unredacted body-camera footage, which critics claimed suggested police were attempting to pressure Ben into dropping his investigation.
The fight escalated further when Ben was slapped with a gag order, civil lawsuits and a search warrant. He says a subsequent no-bail arrest warrant forced him to flee to Mexico.
In a June 1 video, Schneider released his own version of events, claiming he has repeatedly requested body-camera footage and has received death threats amid the controversy.
“Some of the best lawyers in the United States are reaching out to me right now. So eventually this is going to get released. Wouldn’t you just like to get this over with sooner rather than dragging this out?” Schneider said.
Meanwhile, the YouTuber has raised more than $489,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help the Mansell family recover the LEGO collection and cover mounting legal expenses.
