Mark Schifter To Be Sentenced Today

[Harmon]

Harmon, is it common where you are to have a 20 year probation? I realize it varies state to state but I don't recall ever seeing that before.

That is a very long probationary period, but I suspect much of the reason is the large amount of restitution ordered. When you order restitution you want to make sure to have a long enough period of probation so that it is all paid while the person is still on probation.

If the person is on probation and it's not being paid on schedule, the state can file an application to revoke the person's probation. If the person has already discharged their probation, the state has less effective options to enforce the restitution order.

That doesn't mean that Mark will be on a 20 year payment plan. I have no idea what the terms are, but I always like to give myself plenty of wiggle room on the length of probation. Here's why: A failure to pay has to be "willful" in order to be a violation of probation (at least in my state) so at a revocation hearing when the state shows that the defendant has not been paying their restitution payments, if the defendant can show that he is destitute and unable to pay that would not be a "willful" violation of his probation.

So you may have periods when people do not make their payments and there's not much you can do about it. Most prosecutors and judges will give people some leeway on payments of restitution, court costs, probation fees, etc. No one really wants to send someone to prison (at a cost to the taxpayers of approximately $20-25k per year) for failure to pay money. However, sometimes you're left with few options other than sending them to jail at least for a few days/weeks/months.

 

[hectic1]

Hey Jimmy...good to see you again...I wish it was under better circumstances.

I have refrained from saying anything about the situation as I had extremely mixed emotions about it. I had one side of me saying MLS never did me wrong personally or financially...he had broken promises but I came to expect that with him. On the other hand, he had used monies that I had donated to raffles for his own personal gain and left the intended recipients holding the bag as they waited for the monies owed.

I will preface that I haven't spoken to MLS in probably over 2 years as my last dealing with him left a very sour taste in my mouth. At that point I decided that I could no longer recommend AV123 or him to anyone in good faith and I told him that. To this day, I feel bad knowing that I could have possibly had a hand in enabling him as I was a supporter of AV123 and did my part in helping them get the word out about their products and what I thought was a great business built on community values. To all of those that were hurt by MLS I apologize for any part that I played in promoting AV123 or MLS.

I hope that this will bring an end to a painful process for many and that all that are owed restitution will get it in one shape or another. I have asked that the monies that I donated to the raffles go to the intended parties so that their needs that were shared are eventually met.

All of this has really taken away the shine in audio for me and now that it's put to bed, hopefully my desire to visit the boards and listen to music will come back.

Bob

 

[Tdekany]

Spoken like a person with a concience. Beautiful to read.

While I don't know MS, his actions/dealings point to a Sociopath.

These type of humans do not change and will never feel an oz. of remorse no matter what the punishment maybe.

Hey Jimmy...good to see you again...I wish it was under better circumstances.

I have refrained from saying anything about the situation as I had extremely mixed emotions about it. I had one side of me saying MLS never did me wrong personally or financially...he had broken promises but I came to expect that with him. On the other hand, he had used monies that I had donated to raffles for his own personal gain and left the intended recipients holding the bag as they waited for the monies owed.

I will preface that I haven't spoken to MLS in probably over 2 years as my last dealing with him left a very sour taste in my mouth. At that point I decided that I could no longer recommend AV123 or him to anyone in good faith and I told him that. To this day, I feel bad knowing that I could have possibly had a hand in enabling him as I was a supporter of AV123 and did my part in helping them get the word out about their products and what I thought was a great business built on community values. To all of those that were hurt by MLS I apologize for any part that I played in promoting AV123 or MLS.

I hope that this will bring an end to a painful process for many and that all that are owed restitution will get it in one shape or another. I have asked that the monies that I donated to the raffles go to the intended parties so that their needs that were shared are eventually met.

All of this has really taken away the shine in audio for me and now that it's put to bed, hopefully my desire to visit the boards and listen to music will come back.

Bob

 

[dane]

Haha, I was waiting for one of the other AV123 threads to be updated.... didn't think to search for a new one until today. Thanks for the updates. It seems very few people received the email note that sevenfeet did. I did not receive it either. While I've largely moved on to other past-times now, I am hopeful that with the end of this lengthy process, the individuals of the community we once belonged to can continue to get back to the audio passions that originally brought us together. Not sure that I ever will... Life happens and I have other things to steal my time now.. Ironically it's been a good outcome for me-- spending less time on the forums and more time "in real life."

Although it is a bit OT, I wanted to briefly reply to this:

It never ceases to amaze me that the timing of people's "seeing the light" comes when they're about to be sentenced for some crime that they could have avoided. Doing bad things and waving it off because "God loves and forgives me" is one of the reasons I stopped going to church. The "Born again Christians" of the '70s really annoyed me. It seemed that most of them were involved with something that ultimately scared them into changing their ways.

[soapbox]

I heard something once that I've never forgotten-- "Church is not for perfect people." When you think about it (if you prescribe to a christian faith of any denomination), there was only one perfect man on earth (Jesus).... all we can do is hopefully (eventually) realize our massive failures and try to (daily) turn them around. For most, such realization precisely comes at a time when there is nothing else to rely on. (side note: the percentage of believers in God is always lower in an affluent society because they don't feel the "need" for God [even if it is God's blessings that has in fact made them affluent to begin with!] as much as those in 3rd world countries who have little else to rely on BUT God.) Putting aside the topic of THIS thread for a moment (I don't want to debate on Mark's spiritual state-- that's between him and God), I just wanted to say that I hope examples of people coming to find faith "too late" do not outweigh what coming to find faith can truly mean to another individual. In other words, try not to let the failures of one self-proclaimed (insert religion here) be the book-cover for the entire (insert religion here) faith.

[/soapbox]

cheers,
..dane

 

[rotorooter]

Ah religion, the last refuge for some scoundrels, speaking of MLS. All that and whatever the future holds for him too. Now he will fully comprehend and understand the meaning of Humbly.

 

[Seth=L]

Ah religion, the last refuge for some scoundrels, speaking of MLS. All that and whatever the future holds for him too. Now he will fully comprehend and understand the meaning of Humbly.

At the risk of turning this into a religious debate I'd squelch comments regarding the man's penance (genuine or not) in regard to his letter. We are only left to speculate as to whether he's a new man or not. I think we can all agree that he won't be able to do business at the level he was in the future.

 

[gonk]

Whether or not he's had a spiritual revelation notwithstanding (I'll pass on such speculation), Mark now faces a real-world demonstration of "the boy who cried wolf" if he tries to return to the audio community in any capacity. In how many posts, emails, phone calls, and meals over the last three years has he used the same words to assure people that he'd been shamed by his mistakes and set out to make major changes? Dozens? Hundreds? If he actually does try to change his life, he's going to have a hard time proving it. Words won't cut it. It will take action - and a lot of it - to convince many of us that he's doing anything other than manipulating us all again.

 

[rotorooter]

At the risk of turning this into a religious debate I'd squelch comments regarding the man's penance (genuine or not) in regard to his letter. We are only left to speculate as to whether he's a new man or not. I think we can all agree that he won't be able to do business at the level he was in the future.

I contributed one sentence in regard to the word religion. That doesn't exactly make it a debate. Would you like to squelch Dane's far more detailed comments about religion? As far as MLS being a new man, I think we'll have to give that a little time, don't you. Not unless of course you're clairvoyant.

 

[TLS Guy]

I contributed one sentence in regard to the word religion. That doesn't exactly make it a debate. Would you like to squelch Dane's far more detailed comments about religion? As far as MLS being a new man, I think we'll have to give that a little time, don't you. Not unless of course you're clairvoyant.

Fair, but there is a lot of data on recidivism in both economically motivated and non economically motivated crime. So like any reasoning person you can use the percentages (the odds) to guide your judgment.

 

[Chu Gai]

Restitution should be interesting. In a short time he should come into some cash when his home is eventually foreclosed upon. My back of the envelope calculations suggest the amount he would net would be more than adequate to make full restitution with respect to the recently concluded legal matter. But there are also civil matters in progress or contemplated which have the possibility of wiping him out completely. Further we must consider just what's happening with Colorado Dept. of Revenue not to mention the IRS. I'll be somewhat heartened if I hear that DF, DW, Hugh, etc. start receiving monies but there'll be a lot of affected parties looking for their restitution.

BTW, does anyone know for a fact that MLS actually had stents implanted?

 

[Timeless Tech]

On the topic of restitution, with more being reported every week, I frankly wish he'd be compelled to reimburse MFW-15 customers for any and all expenses they're facing due to amps failing thanks to his poor designs (supposedly compounded by manufacturer(s) who shortchanged him and the rest of us by substituting components of dubious reliability). He can pursue the manufacturers himself on that accusation, maybe as a counter claim if they're lining up to come after him civilly.

Anyone as concerned for the "damage done" as he intones should find himself compelled to "make things right", given he's got 2 decades to ponder his wrongs.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Restitution should be interesting. In a short time he should come into some cash when his home is eventually foreclosed upon. My back of the envelope calculations suggest the amount he would net would be more than adequate to make full restitution with respect to the recently concluded legal matter. But there are also civil matters in progress or contemplated which have the possibility of wiping him out completely. Further we must consider just what's happening with Colorado Dept. of Revenue not to mention the IRS. I'll be somewhat heartened if I hear that DF, DW, Hugh, etc. start receiving monies but there'll be a lot of affected parties looking for their restitution.

BTW, does anyone know for a fact that MLS actually had stents implanted?

The tax (evasion) implications are another interesting twist of this fraud. Now, can the Colorado Dept. of Revenue and IRS possibly lay further (felony) charges along with the restitution that is separate from the previous criminal trial?

 

[Chu Gai]

The tax (evasion) implications are another interesting twist of this fraud. Now, can the Colorado Dept. of Revenue and IRS possibly lay further (felony) charges along with the restitution that is separate from the previous criminal trial?

Sure. Why not? If it's joint income it might even affect his wife too. Also, just because Colorado nailed him on the whole raffle thing, that doesn't necessarily preclude Federal charges if they so desire. Some may recall that there was a Federal Commission formed to prosecute crimes especially pertaining to Hurricane Katrina fraud.

 

[tonygeno]

The tax (evasion) implications are another interesting twist of this fraud. Now, can the Colorado Dept. of Revenue and IRS possibly lay further (felony) charges along with the restitution that is separate from the previous criminal trial?

Unless, of course, he declared the income from the fraud.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Sure. Why not? If it's joint income it might even affect his wife too. Also, just because Colorado nailed him on the whole raffle thing, that doesn't necessarily preclude Federal charges if they so desire. Some may recall that there was a Federal Commission formed to prosecute crimes especially pertaining to Hurricane Katrina fraud.

Hurricane Katrina fraud is especially a touchy subject with the Red Cross in particular. It seems the Red Cross has stepped up its deterrence since this tragedy.

The United States Department of Justice even has a website dedicated to this. Wow.

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/katrina/

 

[Chu Gai]

Hurricane Katrina fraud is especially a touchy subject with the Red Cross in particular. It seems the Red Cross has stepped up its deterrence since this tragedy.

The United States Department of Justice even has a website dedicated to this. Wow.

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/katrina/

He's in very deep ****.

 

[rotorooter]

Fair, but there is a lot of data on recidivism in both economically motivated and non economically motivated crime. So like any reasoning person you can use the percentages (the odds) to guide your judgment.

I'm a recidivist myself. I keep rereading what you've written to try to figure out your point.

 

[Chu Gai]

According to the Boulder Public Trustee, he's in default of both his primary and secondary mortgages. A search of their website says...

ID: 09-22822 Sale Scheduled on 10/27/2010
ID: 10-23711 Sale Information for Sale Scheduled on 10/13/2010

The latter is for the primary mortgage which takes precedence IIRC. At least for the next two years, he'll have a place to call home.

 

[randyb]

According to the Boulder Public Trustee, he's in default of both his primary and secondary mortgages. A search of their website says...

ID: 09-22822 Sale Scheduled on 10/27/2010
ID: 10-23711 Sale Information for Sale Scheduled on 10/13/2010

The latter is for the primary mortgage which takes precedence IIRC. At least for the next two years, he'll have a place to call home.

I keep trying to envision what my wife would do to me if I had brought a sh**storm like this down upon us. My guess is I would have a much higher voice.

 

[cschang]

I keep trying to envision what my wife would do to me if I had brought a sh**storm like this down upon us. My guess is I would have a much higher voice.

Randy, you should ask her and let us know what she says.

I am sure that MLS's wife has also received much of the type of words we have seen on the forums. She has probably been spun so much, she may have no sense of what is going on, and may actually believe that MLS is the victim. Why else would she hang around?

Then again, maybe she knows he has millions of dollars stashed away somewhere.