KEIZER, Ore. — For more than a decade, the Mansell family assembled one of the largest private Star Wars Lego collections in the Willamette Valley. Bryan Mansell said his family began purchasing Star Wars Lego sets and minifigures in the early 2000s, investing roughly $30,000 over 15 years and preserving every item sealed in its original box. The collection grew to more than 780 sets and 1,200 minifigures, with an estimated value of about $150,000 to $200,000, according to Bryan Mansell.
In November 2023, Mansell consigned the collection to the Bricks and Minifigs franchise store in Keizer under a signed legal agreement with Chrystal Law-Gorman, the business owner of the Bricks and Minifigs Salem-Keizer LLC. The collection’s public unveiling drew a line of customers out the door and was covered by local media. The question of who is responsible for the collection’s disappearance has drawn in local police, the district attorney’s office, attorneys on multiple fronts, and a growing online community demanding answers.
An inventory spreadsheet reviewed by the Salem Business Journal — tracking the sets alone — shows a low-end value of approximately $60,335 and a high-end value of approximately $98,480. The 1,200 minifigures, whose values are documented separately, bring the total estimated value of the full collection to between $150,000 and $200,000 according to Bryan Mansell — a figure consistent with the Bricks and Minifigs Keizer location’s own 2023 Facebook post, which described the collection as “estimated to be worth well over $200,000.”
Some individual sets, including the highly prized Cloud City, are valued at more than $10,000 each, and individual minifigures in the collection are valued at more than $1,300 apiece. The collection was built as a long-term investment to one day supplement the funding for the next generation’s college education.
The Salem Business Journal conducted on-the-record interviews with all three principal parties: Mansell, who owned the consigned collection; Benjamin and Chrystal Law-Gorman, the former franchise owners whose store was seized by corporate; and Ammon McNeff, CEO of BAM Franchising Inc., the parent company behind the Bricks and Minifigs brand. The Salem Business Journal has also reviewed the signed consignment agreement, a formal termination letter sent by Mansell, email correspondence documenting the consignment arrangement, photographic evidence with metadata timestamps, and an inventory spreadsheet. All allegations remain unproven in a court of law and active civil litigation and a criminal investigation are ongoing.
The Consignment Agreement
On November 22, 2023, Bryan Mansell and Chrystal Law-Gorman — business owner of the Bricks and Minifigs Salem-Keizer LLC — signed a formal consignment agreement. The Salem Business Journal has reviewed this document in full. Under its terms, Mansell granted the store’s LLC an exclusive right to sell his Star Wars Lego collection on consignment. Section IV of the agreement makes ownership unambiguous: the consigned merchandise remained Mansell’s property in full until the moment of sale. The store was entitled to 35 percent of gross sales, with 65 percent paid to Mansell in monthly installments on or before the 15th of each month.
Section V required the store to maintain insurance sufficient to cover the full replacement value of the collection against fire, flood, theft, or vandalism, and held the store responsible for all shortages, losses, or damage while the sets were in its possession. Section XI set an automatic termination date of January 31, 2025, and required all unsold sets to be returned to Mansell within 10 days of termination. Critically, Section X stated the agreement was binding on any successors of the parties, but that neither party could assign their interests without prior written consent of the other.
The formal paper trail supporting the arrangement is documented. Email records reviewed by the Salem Business Journal show that on December 13, 2023, Chrystal Law-Gorman — signing as Franchise Owner of the Keizer location — emailed the inventory spreadsheet via Google Sheets directly to Bryan Mansell. On December 20, 2023, Mansell emailed the finalized consignment agreement back to the store for signing. The consignment was an active, formally documented business arrangement from its earliest weeks. Here is a screenshot of the email:
The consignment was also publicly celebrated — the store’s own Facebook page, on November 7, 2023, posted that the Bricks and Minifigs Salem-Keizer store would be displaying one of the largest, most valuable privately held collections of Star Wars Lego in the world, calling the investment estimated to be worth well over $200,000.
The arrangement ran smoothly for the better part of a year. Law-Gorman maintained a detailed spreadsheet tracking sold and unsold items, layaways, storage locations, and sale prices for each set — covering the sets portion of the collection only, separate from the 1,200 minifigures. Mansell came in monthly to collect receipts and a percentage check. According to Mansell, when Law-Gorman was later forced out of the store, she was not permitted to print or take a copy of that spreadsheet with her — meaning the inventory record she had built documenting the entire consignment was left behind in the store and remained accessible to whoever controlled it afterward.
A point of dispute emerged in this reporting over whether the consignment arrangement was permissible under BAM’s franchise rules. McNeff told the Salem Business Journal that consignment is explicitly prohibited under the company’s franchise operations guidelines, and that had corporate known about a consignment arrangement, it could have been grounds for franchise termination. Law-Gorman directly disputes this. She told the Salem Business Journal there is no language in the franchise agreement prohibiting consignment agreements, that corporate was made aware of the arrangement near the very beginning and raised no objection, and that she views it as an exception to normal buying practices rather than a policy violation. The Salem Business Journal asked BAM Franchising to provide documentation supporting the claimed prohibition. No such documentation had been provided at the time of publication.
The Gormans Approach Corporate About Selling
Both sides agree that in November 2024, the Gormans initiated contact with BAM Franchising about the future of the store, and that the Gormans were planning to leave the country. Beyond that, the accounts split sharply.
McNeff said the Gormans reached out to inform corporate they had received a job offer overseas and wanted to know how to close the store. He said BAM told them closing was not an option and the parties began working on a transition plan. He said the Gormans owed approximately $200,000 in unpaid obligations — including the original purchase price of the store and accumulated unpaid royalties — and that the Gormans became uncooperative during the transition process, ultimately leading BAM to fully terminate the franchise agreement. He said the franchise agreement allowed BAM to offset store assets against money owed, similar to an asset seizure in a bankruptcy proceeding.
Law-Gorman tells it differently. She said they approached corporate about the possibility of selling the store — not simply closing it — so they could recoup their investment before leaving the country. She said that same day, corporate sent a representative to the Keizer location and proceeded to seize the store immediately, without the notice or process she claims is required under their franchise agreement. She said they were threatened, denied the opportunity to conduct an inventory, and forced out that night. The Gormans contend the alleged $200,000 debt is disputed and that corporate used it as a pretext to take the store, denying the Gormans any proceeds from a legitimate sale. They are now suing BAM Franchising on multiple grounds, including breach of contract, conversion, defamation, and civil conspiracy.
The Night of the Seizure and the Consignment Question
The Gormans claim that on the night of the seizure, Nov. 14, 2024, Law-Gorman informed the corporate representative — who was simultaneously on speakerphone with a BAM corporate contact the Gormans identify as Ki McAllister, whom they describe as then BAM’s Director of Operations — about Mansell’s outstanding consignment arrangement and the fact that he had not been paid out for remaining sets. According to the Gormans, McAllister acknowledged the consignment on that call and stated that since the new operator was taking over the business, he would be taking over the consignment as well. The Gormans say this exchange was captured on the store’s security camera and that the footage has been provided to the Keizer Police Department.
Mansell said the same security video is part of the evidence he has assembled and that it directly contradicts corporate’s subsequent claims of ignorance about the collection. He also provided the Salem Business Journal with timestamped photographs taken by Law-Gorman that evening. “She was trying to take as many photos of the sets that were being left behind in the store so that there would be documentation of it,” Mansell said, describing Law-Gorman’s actions the night of the seizure. The photos show Star Wars Lego boxes with yellow dot stickers on the UPC barcodes — Mansell’s identifying marks — still on the store shelves. The photo metadata places them on Thursday, November 14, 2024, between 7:50 and 7:55 p.m., with set numbers consistent with items on Mansell’s inventory list.
McNeff declined to address the specific contents of the security video, citing ongoing litigation. He maintained that corporate was not aware of any consignment arrangement at the time of the seizure and that the store’s consignment activity was unauthorized and unknown to corporate. The Salem Business Journal reached out to Ki McAllister directly for comment. No response had been received at the time of publication.
A notable legal wrinkle: the consignment agreement’s Section X states it is binding on successors, but that neither party can assign their interests without the other’s prior written consent. Mansell contends no such written consent was ever sought or given — meaning that even if corporate intended to transfer consignment obligations to the new operator, doing so without Mansell’s consent may itself constitute a breach of the agreement.
The Gormans say they attempted to document as much of the remaining inventory as possible before being removed, but were not given access to all areas of the store, particularly the back stockroom where higher-value sets were kept. They say they left with a single box of personal belongings. A small number of sets that had been in their vehicle from a recent Rose City Comic-Con appearance were returned directly to Mansell shortly after.
New Operators Take Over
Following the seizure, BAM engaged a third-party entity — identified by McNeff as Baker Bricks LLC — to conduct an inventory of the store. That same entity later expressed interest in purchasing the location at 3670 River Road N in Keizer. McNeff confirmed that BAM sold the store to Baker Bricks LLC. The new operators are identified in the termination letter sent by Mansell as Brandon Best, and a second operator named Josh. Brandon Best and Josh are believed to now reside in Utah and have not responded to requests for comment from the Salem Business Journal.
Mansell and the Gormans both raise concerns about the timeline. They note that the same individuals who conducted the post-seizure inventory on corporate’s behalf became the store’s new owners within approximately a month, and argue this makes it difficult to cleanly separate corporate’s responsibility from that of the new franchisees. McNeff maintained that once the sale was complete, the new owners became independent operators and corporate bears no responsibility for their conduct.
Mansell Comes Forward and Issues a Formal Termination
On November 22, 2024 — the one-year anniversary of the consignment agreement — Mansell sent a formal written notice of cancellation and termination to Brandon Best at the Keizer store address, via email and certified mail. The Salem Business Journal has reviewed this letter. It cited two specific breaches: failure to deliver the November monthly installment payment by November 15, 2024 as required under the agreement, and a refusal on November 21, 2024 to allow Mansell to inspect the remaining inventory as provided for under Section III. The letter demanded inspection of all sales records since April 1, 2024, payment of all unpaid proceeds, and return of all remaining inventory within 10 days.
Mansell said he was met with denials. The new operators allegedly claimed they had no knowledge of any consignment arrangement. Corporate, in written correspondence Mansell shared with the Salem Business Journal, allegedly told him the evidence was insufficient and directed him to pursue the Gormans instead. Mansell disputes this on two grounds: first, that even if the Gormans were originally liable, corporate assumed all assets and liabilities of the store’s LLC when they seized it; and second, that he sent a buyer into the store after the new operators claimed to have removed his sets, and that buyer successfully purchased one of his consigned sets, demonstrating the sets were still being actively sold.
Where Things Stand Now
According to Mansell, the Keizer Police Department has significantly expanded its investigation. What began as a two-page report has grown to approximately 30 pages, and detectives are now working with the Marion County District Attorney’s office to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. If the DA moves forward, warrants could be issued for Brandon Best and a second operator identified in interviews as Josh, and they would be subject to potential extradition. The Salem Business Journal contacted the Keizer Police Department for comment; consistent with standard procedure in active investigations, officials confirmed the matter is under investigation but declined to provide additional detail.
On the civil side, the Gormans have retained legal counsel and are pursuing a lawsuit against BAM Franchising on multiple grounds. They claim they have never received a post-termination inventory of the store from corporate, which they contend is required under the franchise agreement. The Gormans’ attorney was not available for comment at the time of publication.
Mansell said he no longer expects to recover the physical collection. “I filed charges against everybody because I didn’t know who to believe,” he said, “but I can prove for a fact that my sets are still in that store and these guys are lying about it.” His goals are financial restitution and public accountability.
Law-Gorman said the situation has caused harm well beyond the financial. She said she spent significant time building community around the Keizer store, and that the actions of various parties have damaged something that mattered to local families and customers. “When you purchase a store that’s aimed at children and something that is supposed to be fun and joyful,” she said, “it’s unfortunate that bad actors can spoil that sense of community.”
BAM Franchising has not issued a public statement. In his interview with the Salem Business Journal, McNeff was direct about the company’s position. “This particular situation involves a single independently owned and operated franchise location that engaged in a local arrangement outside of corporate policy,” he said. He maintained that the company does not condone franchise owners operating outside policy, but that independently owned locations are ultimately responsible for their own conduct.
The Salem Business Journal will continue to follow this story. As the criminal investigation, civil litigation, and community response develop — including the outcome of the DA’s review, the Gormans’ lawsuit against BAM Franchising, and any response from the new operators — we will report on it. All allegations described in this article are presented as claims by the respective parties and have not been adjudicated in a court of law.
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Tips or corrections related to this story can be sent to: newsroom@salembusinessjournal.org
Supporting Documentation:
Social media
– Social Media Post 1
– Social Media Post 2
– Social Media Post 3
– Social Media Post 4
– Social Media Post 5
Ring Videos:
– Ring Video 1
– Ring Video 2
– Ring Video 3
Documents:
– Bryan Mansell Statement
– Communication with Keizer Police via email screenshot 2
– Communication with Keizer Police via email screenshot
– Copy of Star Wars Inventory Lot Copy for Bryan – Sets
– Lego Set Inventory
Marked set photos:
– Image 1
– Image 2
– Image 3
– Image 4
– Image 5
– Image 6
– Image 7
– Image 8
– Image 9
