- American Fork police are involved in a viral dispute after arresting a YouTuber alleging the theft of a $200,000 Lego collection.
- YouTuber Reckless Ben has released multiple videos accusing Bricks and Minifigs of not honoring a consignment agreement; he was charged after going to the owner's home multiple times in March.
- American Fork's police department emphasized it is not involved in the Lego dispute, but on investigating alleged crimes in the city.
AMERICAN FORK — American Fork police are now involved in a viral conversation about a $200,000 "Star Wars" Lego collection.
Ben Schneider, known on YouTube as Reckless Ben, traveled to American Fork as part of his efforts to help Bryan Mansell, a man who reached out to him after he said his family's collection had been stolen by Bricks and Minifigs, a Utah-based Lego resell company.
The videos claim Mansell left his family's Legos at an Oregon franchise of Bricks and Minifigs under a consignment agreement, but when corporate took over the store and gave it to a new owner based in American Fork, he allegedly did not get his money back — or his Legos.
Throughout the videos, which are still being released, Schneider goes to great lengths to try to get allegedly stolen Legos back, including speaking to Bricks and Minifig employees, placing large banners about the alleged theft over the company's sign, delivering an award to the store for "most Legos stolen," and filing multiple small-claims court lawsuits.
Schneider also created a satirical company called "We Steal From Old People," which has a logo placing its name under the Bricks and Minifigs logo. Among his other efforts, he has also traveled to American Fork to confront the company's owner at his home.
A video from Schneider's channel released on Saturday highlights the American Fork Police Department's response to multiple calls that he was in front of one of the company's owners, Josh Johnson. In his video, he claims he is trying to have a good faith conversation and serve papers as required by Oregon court to start a lawsuit. However, Johnson calls police on him multiple times as Schneider sends people to talk to Johnson.
A fundraiser Schneider set up for Mansell after other options fell through has already earned over $250,000.
'Not exempted'
In a video posted to social media, American Fork Police Chief Cameron Paul said Schneider's videos were "presented in a way that calls into question some of the actions of our department." He goes through each of the four case numbers following calls to the department from Johnson on March 9 through March 12 and tells the police officers' side of the story, including why they responded and what actions they took.
Twice, Paul said, they decided to arrest Schneider, and he was ultimately charged on March 27 with stalking, a class A misdemeanor, and targeted residential picketing, a class B misdemeanor.
"The fact that someone may have believed they were wronged financially does not exempt any individual from the laws governing harassment, trespassing, stalking or other conduct within our jurisdiction. We remain committed to enforcing the law fairly, objectively and transparently regardless of who was involved or what narrative might exist," he said.
The American Fork Police Department's role, according to Paul, was not to determine what was morally right in the business agreement but instead to enforce Utah's law.
"I understand that many people following this situation online have strong feelings regarding the underlying business dispute out of Oregon and allegations that individuals may have lost significant amounts of money. I recognize that people are frustrated, angry and may feel that justice has not been served in relation to those allegations. Those concerns are understandable, I understand them and am empathetic to them. And, nothing in the actions taken by the American Fork Police Department should be interpreted as validating, supporting or defending anyone involved in that separate civil or criminal dispute," he said.
The police video, the only one currently available on the channel, has over 425,000 views.
Call to unredact
Schneider has since buckled down on his complaints against the police department, accusing it of lying about hurting his arm during a search of his Airbnb and in its claim that he hadn't stopped at a stop sign. He said police instead used that as an excuse to pull him over, when body camera video showed the car he was in did make a complete stop.
He said he explained to the police that he was seeking to fulfill the requirements to file an Oregon lawsuit and that he told them Johnson was the one who was a criminal, accusing him of stealing Legos. He said dragging the issue out just gives him more content.
Schneider ends the video with "let's find Bryan's Legos."
Thousands of comments on the American Fork Police Department's video and Facebook post side with Schneider. Someone has also created a fake American Fork Police Department Facebook account, where conversations are continuing.
In his latest major update, Schneider said his next video would include allegations that he committed a felony, but he has not at this point been charged with a felony in Utah courts.
His next hearing on the misdemeanor charges is on July 1. At his last hearing, Schneider was grated permission to represent himself.
'Toxic online circus'
Schneider's videos claim the Bricks and Minifigs owners have tried to intimidate him and Mansell into not filing lawsuits, saying the company would drag them out, only because it knows it couldn't win a lawsuit. However, on May 27, Bricks and Minifigs and its owners filed a lawsuit in Utah's 4th District Court against Schneider, Mansell and others involved seeking over $300,000 and accusing them of defamation, disparagement, conspiracy, stalking, trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Bricks and Minifigs responded with a statement claiming the value of the Lego collection was exaggerated and was really closer to $60,000 or $80,000. The franchise's social media accounts, however, valued the collection at "well over $200,000" when advertising it in November 2024.
The company said it has always had an approach that "any inventory that doesn't belong to us should go back to its rightful owner." It says evidence indicates most of those Lego sets were already sold before corporate took back the franchise, and that other inventory was stored offsite and the new owners never had access to it.
Bricks and Minifigs said it closed the Oregon location because the staff was facing stalking and bomb threats because of the viral videos, not because it lost the lawsuits, as Schneider's videos claimed.
"While we are completely willing to look in the mirror, tighten our business practices, and improve our corporate oversight, we must also draw a hard line against the aggressive, lawless bullying that has targeted our brand," they said. "We will not be bullied into silence, nor will we allow online mobs to destroy a brand built on honesty and imagination."
In a frequently asked question page asking why the company doesn't just pay the money back, the company said: "We want to help the family; we will not reward a toxic online circus."
Mansell has said in Schneider's videos that he was never offered the Legos and that many of the sets were still sitting in the store when they went in.
The lawsuit said Chrystal Law, the previous franchise owner who also claims she was wronged in a YouTube video and has earned thousands in a related GoFundMe, was delinquent on payments, and that is why the franchise was taken from her and her husband. It said she was not cooperative as they took the store back and refused to leave important records.
According to the lawsuit, Mansell showed up shortly after the franchise changed hands, but his "purported inventory list" did not include any Lego sets currently at the store. It later said police were called, and officers determined Mansell had "insufficient evidence of ownership."
