Stolen Lego, Mormons and corrupt Cops.
Illuminating Diggings with Daniel Ryan
SubscribeSign in
Stolen Lego, Mormons and corrupt Cops.<br>A viral stolen Lego story from a dying old man
Daniel Ryan<br>Jun 05, 2026
Share
I’ve been keeping tabs on a US viral stolen Lego story that sounds insane - I instantly got hooked watching the first video about it. Eric (Ed) Mansell invested in Star Wars Lego for 15 years, totalling 780 sets and 1,200 minifigures. The full collection was worth between $150,000 and $200,000 USD. Now aged 83 and in poor health because of cancer, he wanted to sell his collection, so he had his son Bryan Mansell sort out the sale, with the proceeds going toward his grandchildren’s college education.<br>A franchise store in Keizer, Oregon, Brick & Minifigs (BAM), accepted a consignment deal to sell the Lego on Bryan’s behalf. BAM has over 300 franchise locations. The store would get a 35% cut, and the family would still own the Lego in the meantime. The Lego was handed over to the store in November 2023. A yellow sticker was added over the barcode to identify this stock. The collection was one of the largest sealed Star Wars collections, covered by the local news and promoted by BAM corporate, and it drew lines out the door for people to see it.
Salem-Keizer FB post.<br>Once the store had secure cabinets, the collection was stored on-site. Bryan said 30% had been sold and paid out, but then the store changed hands. Corporate said the store owed them $97,393 USD. The old owners, Chrystal Gorman (nee Law) and her husband, Benjamin Gorman, were kicked out by corporate, under threat of police action, in November 2024. Video evidence from the day she was kicked out shows Chrystal talking to the new Salem-Keizer store owners and corporate’s Director of Operations, Ki McAllister (now the Executive Projects Manager), about Eric’s Star Wars Lego collection.<br>“We talked ‘at’ her [Chrystal]. If you fight this, then you will be putting yourself in a lot of shit. This sounds like a threat...in a way it is.”<br>- Ki McAllister from BAM corporate
Chrystal was trying to get receipts because two months’ worth of sales from August to October were not given to Bryan, and Ki said corporate would handle the consignment. The new operators, Joshua (Josh) Johnson and Brandon Best, took over Eric’s Lego collection, later removed identifying stickers, and told Bryan they were unaware of any collection. They never returned it or paid for any of it. How much Lego was left in the store is still up for debate. Bryan later found out that BAM corporate had a pattern of seizing stores and grabbing assets. Bryan refused to tell Eric that the Lego had been stolen - stress he didn’t need while sick.<br>Bryan had someone purchase a set of his in-store after he was told his sets had been removed. Clearly showing the store is still selling his Lego. Bryan unsuccessfully tried to work with BAM corporate and also contacted the police, with no luck. After an investigation, the police said it was a civil matter, not a criminal one. Bryan was trespassed from the BAM Salem-Keizer store. In April, 2025, Bryan managed to get the YouTube channel Collecting Weekly to start reporting on the story, but when Bricks & Minifigs issued legal threats, they had to back away.<br>Chrystal found a small part of the collection at her house in December 2025: 230 mini figures, and about 12 smaller sets, and the “Cloud City” sets (worth over $10,000 USD each), and gave them all back to Bryan.<br>Reckless Ben, a YouTuber (real name Benjamin Schneider), was basically sick of his videos being pulled down and de-monetised, so he thought investigating a Lego story would be a safer bet. He investigated the story in 2026 with Victor Nguyen and others to create multiple documentaries: Video #1 , Video #2 , Video #3 (blocked by TRO), and soon Video #4, with more on the way. The videos show how the story really ramped up and took a left turn. I’ll share only a little of what went down; I suggest watching the videos.<br>Ben visited the Salem-Keizer store, was greeted by the manager, Amanda, and politely asked about the missing Lego. Amanda told him it was a corporate issue and that he had to leave. She ignored everything he had to say, and the cops arrived and trespassed Ben and his team. Ben visited their corporate office and spoke with their CEO, Ammon McNeff, who denied that anything had been stolen. Ammon said it had nothing to do with corporate, as this was a franchise problem.<br>After several pranks, Joshua Johnson said he would return the Lego if Bryan apologised. Worried that this was a trap, they created an AI video instead. The owner accepted the apology and asked Ben to also apologise to the store manager, Amanda, and, once that was done, he would return the Lego to Ben.<br>“You’re going to get em (x2). We’re not gonna - I’m not gonna screw ya. You have my word. That’s not who I am. I promise you. I swear to God.”<br>- Joshua Johnson, store owner.
Ben tried to do so at the store,...