UPDATED: Mark L. Schifter, PLEADS GUILTY to suspicion of charity fraud

[MinusTheBear]

Lets hope they didn't "sell" a lot of those... Were they taking pre-orders? Or selling them, taking the money, and were supposed to ship them when they became available? Or were they not sold yet?

I hope not GirgleMirt.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Dear Friends:

It is with profound sadness that we are announcing the closing of AV123/Perpetual Technologies effective today.

We join in sending all of you our sincerest thanks and deepest appreciation for your support through these last 11+ years. Our history is rich with wonderful products and happy moments, all in the name of making great music affordable for all of you.

Sadly, recent events have cast a very unfavorable light on AV123 and have effectively sealed our collective fate. We hope that over time, we will be able to offer more information.

No amount of thanks on our part would ever be adequate enough in exchange for your past support.

Shortly we hope to be able to offer you more information about how to obtain MFW15 amplifiers should you require one. Please stay tuned to this page for updates. We hope to have this in place within the next few weeks.

In the meantime while we orderly wind down our business – allow us to once again thank you for your patronage and support through all of the times… both good and bad.

Respectfully yours,

The Team at AV123

They had it all in the industry...the connections, the fanbase, the veneer...the most important thing they lacked was a sustainable business model...in honor.


I've got it all, most
I've got it all almost all figured out
But always when I get there
Always when I get there all the pieces they just fall apart

I can't hear you
I can't hear you talk about your dreams involving me
I don't believe
I don't believe that they are any sort of prophecy at all

What a shock, it's Mr. Sweet and Awful
Well, don't look so pissed off
We all lose the plot occasionally

How consistent
How can someone so consistently mess up
As much as every instance?
How can someone inconsistent
Mess up so consistently?

What a shock, it's Mr. Sweet and Awful
Tell your gods I want to speak to their fathers
Look right now, I'm standing on my haunches
I got caught stealing from the lost and found

Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Are you going somewhere
Or are you just walking through my walls?

Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
This is not a party, this is a crowd

Well hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
You see, you've got it easy, I've got my needs
You say what you got
Wanting what you please

Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Carry yourself away with a delicious disease

I've got it all, most
I've got it all almost all figured out
(Isaac Brock)

 

[Hugh-Melody]

I beg to differ.

They actually had the best sustainable business model I've ever seen.

I would do almost anything to have that type of business model.

They had it all in the industry...the connections, the fanbase, the veneer...the most important thing they lacked was a sustainable business model...in honor.


I've got it all, most
I've got it all almost all figured out
But always when I get there
Always when I get there all the pieces they just fall apart

I can't hear you
I can't hear you talk about your dreams involving me
I don't believe
I don't believe that they are any sort of prophecy at all

What a shock, it's Mr. Sweet and Awful
Well, don't look so pissed off
We all lose the plot occasionally

How consistent
How can someone so consistently mess up
As much as every instance?
How can someone inconsistent
Mess up so consistently?

What a shock, it's Mr. Sweet and Awful
Tell your gods I want to speak to their fathers
Look right now, I'm standing on my haunches
I got caught stealing from the lost and found

Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Are you going somewhere
Or are you just walking through my walls?

Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
This is not a party, this is a crowd

Well hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
You see, you've got it easy, I've got my needs
You say what you got
Wanting what you please

Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Hey there, Mr. Sweet and Awful
Carry yourself away with a delicious disease

I've got it all, most
I've got it all almost all figured out
(Isaac Brock)

 

[MinusTheBear]

I beg to differ.

They actually had the best sustainable business model I've ever seen.

I would do almost anything to have that type of business model.

Relying on pre-payment is a sustainable business model?

 

[Das]

Just pulled up the G2 speaker page from Google cache and it looks like they were taking orders. Would post the link but don't have 5 posts. The funny thing was when I checked the page last week to see if they started shipping, which they hadn't, it still said "Shipping Late July" they couldn't even bother updating the page. When going through the cache on G2's their were some in the cleansed forum who caught on to this as well and started predicting the end. It's bad when your staunch fans even see the writing on the wall when your 1st product release under "new management" is nowhere to be seen, and release dates missed again.

They probably didn't get enough pre-orders to cover the cost of the first cabinet run and the components. I'm sure in their eyes it's all AH's fault for allowing the mega thread to continue, thereby killing off their steady stream of cashflow, pre-payer's.

 

[woofersus]

Relying on pre-payment is a sustainable business model?

I think he meant not having to pay suppliers or designers and getting customers to send you money for nothing. Unfortunately the rest of us have to charge more for gear than what it cost us in order to turn a profit.

 

[woofersus]

Just pulled up the G2 speaker page from Google cache and it looks like they were taking orders. Would post the link but don't have 5 posts.

They probably didn't get enough pre-orders to cover the cost of the first cabinet run and the components. I'm sure in their eyes it's all AH's fault for allowing the mega thread to continue, thereby killing off their steady stream of cashflow, pre-payer's.

I hadn't heard anything about people having ordered any, but I guess that doesn't mean nobody got a special-backdoor-preorder-deal-just-because-they-are long-time-customers-and-such-close-personal-friends-of-the-company. I DID however read somebody a month ago or so say they are waiting on LS4's that should arrive "in a few weeks."

I guess the real question is did they put up the G2 information to feign a pulse or were they making a last minute money grab? It's possible that when they first put that stuff up they thought there was still a chance at survival, but it seems somewhat unlikely they could have not known.

 

[Hugh-Melody]

No and Yes.

No, it's not good to rely on pre-payment if you run a legitimate business.

Yes, it's a great way to get some money in a short period of time for whatever other purposes you intended to use the money for.

Relying on pre-payment is a sustainable business model?

 

[jhan1000]

Just pulled up the G2 speaker page from Google cache and it looks like they were taking orders. Would post the link but don't have 5 posts. The funny thing was when I checked the page last week to see if they started shipping, which they hadn't, it still said "Shipping Late July" they couldn't even bother updating the page. When going through the cache on G2's their were some in the cleansed forum who caught on to this as well and started predicting the end. It's bad when your staunch fans even see the writing on the wall when your 1st product release under "new management" is nowhere to be seen, and release dates missed again.

They probably didn't get enough pre-orders to cover the cost of the first cabinet run and the components. I'm sure in their eyes it's all AH's fault for allowing the mega thread to continue, thereby killing off their steady stream of cashflow, pre-payer's.

Just for S&G, I tried ordering a G2 and all it said was that were 0 items in their inventory and asked for my e-mail to notify me when they were in "stock". This was a couple of weeks ago.

 

[gonk]

The B-stock page had been hinting at this result for weeks, and I could never quite fathom how they could actually succeed in bringing to G2 Rockets to market. I guess all that's left now is to find out what's happened with Mark's case...

 

[droht]

I guess the "Don't buy anything..." thread can be perma-locked now, as it seems increasingly unlikely that anyone, even the dumbest and most loyal of Mark's minions could still place an order.

Now all we need is a shovel and a bugle player, and some sort of court ruling I suppose, and we can end this miserable clambake once and for all.

 

[gmichael]

I guess the "Don't buy anything..." thread can be perma-locked now, as it seems increasingly unlikely that anyone, even the dumbest and most loyal of Mark's minions could still place an order.

Now all we need is a shovel and a bugle player, and some sort of court ruling I suppose, and we can end this miserable clambake once and for all.

That is, until he gets out and starts a new company with a new name.

 

[MinusTheBear]

That is, until he gets out and starts a new company with a new name.

How would one in the predicament that they are in raise capital for a new company? I doubt this ever happens. If it does, it will be so obvious, sort of like TADG.

 

[gmichael]

How would one in the predicament that they are in raise capital for a new company? I doubt this ever happens. If it does, it will be so obvious, sort of like TADG.

This is America. Stranger things have happened. Remember, VA321 wasn't even his first company.

 

[MinusTheBear]

This is America. Stranger things have happened. Remember, VA321 wasn't even his first company.

True. And each company has a thing in common - failure.

 

[gmichael]

True. And each company has a thing in common - failure.

And it's funny how most things come in 3's.

 

[cschang]

When I started looking into ID companies for purchasing speakers in my system (about 7 years ago), I contacted two relatively well known industry professionals. One I met in person, and another via email. Both familiar with Schifter.

My question was about ID companies in general, and AV123/Schifter's name came up. Although neither told me not to buy from him, both said they would never do business with him.

If you also notice, most of the people that did business with him were/are relatively small players in the audio industry. People that knew his past, stayed away. Those that learned of his tactics, stopped doing business with him.

Incidently, both of those industry guys had high praise for Dr. Hsu...and then I started along of this merry path.

 

[gonk]

He did have a reputation before AV123. After AV123, he is in possession of an even more widely-known reputation. Not only will it be difficult for him to find large companies willing to do business with him, it'll be difficult (not impossible, certainly) to find online communities that are interested in supporting him.

And it's funny how most things come in 3's.

Audio Alchemy
Perpetual Technologies
AV123
Act3 Audio (or whatever the RSL-II company was to be called)
The Audio Design Groupe

How about fives? I'm sure I left a few off, too.

 

[cschang]

If he is allowed, he will start another company and not use his own name. I bet he gets someone to front for him, and when he finds a supplier, he will be back in business.

 

[randyb]

If he is allowed, he will start another company and not use his own name. I bet he gets someone to front for him, and when he finds a supplier, he will be back in business.

Or he will be "born again" and come back as himself asking for forgiveness. By the way, where is Chu today?