Reckless Ben, the content creator who recently exploded in popularity after a series of videos investigating a missing Lego Star Wars collection worth $200,000, has fled to Mexico following his arrest by the American Fork Police Department in Utah. The oddly contrived mystery surrounding the justification for Ben’s arrest has resulted in a “Mormon Mafia” conspiracy trending online, as those following the story believe that the owners of Lego aftermarket reseller Bricks & Minifigs, who are accused of stealing the collection, are being assisted by American Fork police due to their connections with the Mormon church.
If you need some context for the bizarre paragraph you just read, here’s my best attempt at summing up the events that led us to this point. Toward the end of May, YouTuber Reckless Ben published his first video covering the story of Bryan Mansell. Mansell and his father have been collecting Lego for years, and amassed a Lego Star Wars collection valued at $200,000.
As a result of his father’s ill health, Mansell cosigned the collection over to the Oregon branch of the Bricks & Minifigs LEGO chain. However, new owners took over said branch after the collection was cosigned for in 2023, and, according to the Mansell family, took full ownership of the $200,000 haul.
The new owners of the Oregon branch of Bricks & Minifigs are Joshua Johnson and Brandon Best. As detailed in Reckless Ben’s latest video on the ongoing story, the YouTuber has been attempting to meet with both Johnson and Best so that he can, as per Oregon Judicial Department’s guidelines, have a “good faith” discussion with the pair, as doing so is a prerequisite to taking the issue to court.
Ben was able to meet with Brandon Best, who simply stood outside his house and observed the content creator in silence, but was unable to make contact with Joshua Johnson. This is because Ben and his crew were stopped by police officers outside of Johnson’s house for failing to come to a stop at a stop sign.
Ben and members of his camera crew were then stopped multiple times by American Fork police throughout their investigation. At one point, Ben’s car was even searched by police as they’d received a tip that his vehicle contained heroin. The search came up empty, but Ben was later formally arrested when American Fork police executed a search warrant at the Airbnb he was staying at.
Said search warrant was issued as American Fork police were reportedly informed that the $200,000 Lego collection had actually been stolen by Reckless Ben and was being stored at his Airbnb. Even though officers were unable to find any Lego at the property, Ben was formally arrested alongside several members of his film crew.
Now, here’s where things tip over into conspiracy. The original owner of the Lego Star Wars collection informs Ben during the video that “all the cops are probably a part of” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and theorizes that American Fork police are assisting fellow Mormons Joshua Johnson and Brandon Best. Ben then states that he looked into the officers who were “treating him unfairly,” and concluded that “all” of them are practicing Mormons.
A star wars lego set exposing the mormon mafia in Utah was not on my 2026 bingo card https://t.co/DszJYa1vtg
— Mars (@Marsormr_) June 1, 2026
This is all obviously unconfirmed. However, due to coverage of these events by the likes of Ethan “H3H3” Klein and MoistCr1TiKaL, the term “Mormon Mafia,” referencing the reported links between American Fork police, Joshua Johnson, and Brandon Best, has begun trending on X.
And, as if the story couldn’t get any more bizarre, Reckless Ben has announced that he’s fled to Mexico after a new arrest warrant was issued against him, as he was released on bail following his previous arrest. The latest arrest warrant issued against Ben, which he states was issued for “mystery” reasons, is a “no bail” warrant, hence his decision to hide out in Mexico.
As spotted by Dexerto, after Reckless Ben’s video detailing his arrest was published on May 30, American Fork police responded with an official statement of their own. According to American Fork police chief Cameron Paul, Ben was arrested following complaints of “stalking” and targeted residential picketing, as a result of complaints issued by Joshua Johnson.
This is where I would have wrapped up the story. However, Reckless Ben has just published a new video titled “My response to the Police.” In the new video, Ben accuses American Fork police of obfuscating the true reason for his arrest, pointing to audio redacted from the arresting officer’s body cams, which Ben partially caught on a GoPro camera that was set up in his Airbnb. According to the alleged audio released by Ben, one of the arresting officers can be heard stating “included in the warrant are Legos,” which does not line up with American Fork’s explanation that Ben and his team were arrested on suspicion of stalking.
The American Fork Police Department have yet to issue to a response to Reckless Ben’s latest video.
