Featured Image Credit: Reckless Ben / YouTube
The recent controversy sparked by YouTuber Ben "Reckless Ben" Schneider has prompted retail franchise Bricks & Minifigs (BAM) to shut down one of its stores permanently, calling out 'gross negligence' from its previous franchise owner.
Revolving around a dispute involving a $200,000 LEGO Star Wars collection that was issued to a BAM store in Salem, Oregon, the manufacturer highlights that this consignment agreement was unauthorized by Chrystal Law/Gorman, who franchised the store before it was taken over by Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson.
Announcing the decision in a new statement, Bricks & Minifigs CEO Ammon McNeff has indicating that it will now be permanently closing the Salem store "due to a devastating social media campaign," implicitly pointing towards the Reckless Ben investigation that led to the YouTuber's arrest.
Ms. Law/Gorman had set up her own GoFundMe to help pay for a lawsuit against Bricks & Minifigs, alongside a separate fundraiser for Bryan Mansell, the son of the original LEGO set's owner, which has raised upwards of $380,000.
Reckless Ben's involvement in the dispute between BAM and the Mansell family began several weeks ago after he published a video on YouTube, claiming that he'd tracked down the 'thief' that had allegedly stolen the LEGO handed over as part of the consignment agreement.
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He accused the (now former) franchise owners of the Salem store of being part of the 'Mormon mafia', suggesting that this aided them in avoiding police attention through collusion.
Additionally, the YouTuber engaged in a number of publicity stunts in order to draw attention to his claims and put pressure on the store, leading to a harassment lawsuit from BAM towards Schneider and Mansell.
He was arrested and jailed for several days in response to this, and police searched the Airbnb where he was staying at the time, but everyone involve was later released with no active warrants despite the YouTuber now reportedly fleeing the country.
Following the decision to close the Salem store and part ways with both Best and Johnson, McNeff revealed that BAM is looking to discuss dropping the lawsuit against Mansell, as per Dexerto.
"We finally have enough to proceed with a resolution, and now that we do, Bryan, we continue to offer to sit down with you and are prepared to discuss dropping the lawsuit against you," the statement revealed.
"Let's go through the spreadsheets and POS data together and ensure you are made whole monetarily and ensure that whatever Star Wars LEGO was or remains in the Salem store, whether you identify it as yours or not, you can have it.
"We will ensure you are compensated for anything unaccounted for, including what Ms. Law/Gorman failed to compensate you for without your knowledge. We're ready when you are."
It also indicates that the original $200,000 figure attributed to Mansell's collection was "never a documented value, simply the promotional value they used to bring excitement for the public viewing in November, 2023."
BAM further assert that Law/Gorman "was never authorized to enter into a consignment agreement with Mr. Mansell through the franchise and never introduced Mr. Mansell to BAM or the new incoming franchisees," indicating that reported sales from the collection were far lower than what internal Point-of-Sales (POS) data actually shows, highlight concerning discrepancies.
