Bricks & Minifigs®, an authorized LEGO® reseller specializing in buying, trading, and selling LEGO® products, today announces the permanent closure of its Salem, Oregon store as well a mutual agreement to part ways with franchise owners Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson due to a devastating social media campaign. While fact investigation continues, BAM’s current state of its investigation has uncovered significant evidence of gross negligence in how the store was previously operated by the prior owner, as well as operational gaps during the transition and the subsequent management of document recovery. More importantly, BAM leadership has personally reached out to Bryan Mansell and family to meet, to review documentation revealed in the investigation, and to come to a mutual and positive resolution.
The findings are directly related to the ongoing situation involving collector Bryan Mansell, whose father’s Star Wars LEGO® collection was part of an unauthorized and private consignment side-deal in the Salem location that predated Brandon and Josh’s ownership of the store.
“We’ve been asking for documentation for a long time. We’d asked Mr. Mansell and others and did not receive enough to give us a clear picture until recently, thanks to internal and external operations assistance, and those who continue to stand with us, and we finally have enough to proceed with a resolution,” said Ammon McNeff, CEO, Bricks & Minifigs. “And now that we do, Bryan, we continue our offer to sit down with you and are prepared to discuss dropping the lawsuit against you. 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 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.”
The investigation also produced new documentation that dramatically challenges the speculative social media narrative around the Mansell collection. Evidence shows there were three sets of books being managed by the previous owner Ms. Law/Gorman, regarding the collection, all with different accounts of what was sold and more reliable high-end market values for the entire collection, which is more accurately estimated at $95,000 to $100,000, consistent with what Bryan himself stated publicly on the Collecting Weekly podcast in April 2025, and consistent with the $80,000 in products and/or cash he sought when he visited the store on or around November 21, 2024. Additionally, POS data between September 2023 and November 2024, during the time Ms. Law Gorman confirms she was exclusively storing and managing (and presumably insuring) Mr. Mansell’s collection under the undisclosed side agreement, a signed copy of which BAM still does not have.
The $200,000 figure circulated publicly by Mansell on his personal Facebook page and Mrs. Law/Gorman on the Salem, Oregon Facebook page in 2023 was never a documented value, simply the promotional value they used to bring excitement for the public viewing in November, 2023, an event in which Eric Mansell, father of Bryan Mansell, was also documented by both parties as present.
“Due to our commitment to a heightened level of due diligence in our investigation, and lack of formal documentation produced by Mr. Mansell and the former franchisee, Ms. Law/Gorman, we have found critical data including three separate Star Wars Lot spreadsheets. These included an unknown, but accessible email account maintained by Ms. Law/Gorman. This evidence confirmed the new incoming franchisees who took over the location were not aware of, nor prepared for the responsibilities of taking over a store from a forensic accounting review standpoint. This led to due diligence issues in coming to resolution with Mr. Mansell,” said Matt McNeff, COO, Bricks & Minifigs. “First, an ex-franchisee still had connections to, and in one instance, ownership of company-marked data through a personal email account. When a collector came in, identified himself, and what he believed to be a ‘formal’ albeit undisclosed relationship with a former franchisee, it is unfortunate that Ms. Law Gorman was not upfront about it. We are disappointed this situation was not made explicitly clear, that should have happened much sooner than today. That’s not acceptable, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise.”
Chrystal Law/Gorman entered directly into an unauthorized consignment agreement with Mr. Mansell, yet never made a formal introduction between BAM Corporate nor the new incoming franchisees. As we now know, Ms. Law/Gorman’s hidden personal bookkeeping version, the separate version she shared with Bryan Mansell, and a separate running list of sold items were all overseen by Ms. Law/Gorman and show significant discrepancies between what she publicly paid Mr. Mansell versus what the trackers included. We’ve uncovered in our internal Point-of-Sales (POS) data shows more than $52,000, and potentially more was sold from the collection during her tenure, which is significantly more than was reported by Ms. Law/Gorman.
Chrystal 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.
MORE KEY DETAILS:
- BAM has offered the physical inventory to Mr. Mansell multiple times, most recently in December 2025 and again, personally by Ammon McNeff in May 2026.
- Chrystal Law/Gorman created an unauthorized personal consignment contract with Bryan Mansell in November 2023 and failed to make Corporate aware, given firm language in operations manual and training BAM is strictly Buy, Sell, Trade.
- It is documented that Chrystal Law/Gorman on November 8, 2024, formally shared with BAM Corporate that she did not intend to carry on as a franchisee due to the store’s struggles, and a job offer her partner Benjamin Gorman had received out of country.
- Chrystal Law/Gorman owed close to $200,000 at time of planned abandonment/separation, causing her to be undue any payout on the date of separation.
- A GoFundMe Account for Bryan Mansell has raised over $350K as of June 3, 2026.
An official public timeline can be found here: https://bricksandminifigs.com/blog/blog/2026/06/04/bricks-and-minifigs-salem-store-timeline/
ABOUT BRICKS & MINIFIGS:
Bricks & Minifigs is an authorized LEGO® retailer specializing in buying, trading, and selling LEGO® products. The company brings beloved LEGO sets from the past to today’s generations and allows fans to give new life to old pieces while inspiring new creations. Bricks & Minifigs buys all types of LEGO items, including individual minifigs, bulk bricks, components, and accessories. More than just a store for fans, the company builds a strong community of LEGO enthusiasts and aims to spread joy and creativity to the world through all things LEGO.
To learn more, please visit: https://bricksandminifigs.com/
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260604138712/en/
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