MLS indicted in Colorado for charity fraud!

[Quinn]

© 2010 Longmont Times-Call

LONGMONT - A statewide grand jury on Friday indicted a Longmont man on suspicion of running illegal charity raffles, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

Mark L. Schifter, 54, president of www.********** and Perpetual Technologies, was accused in a five-count indictment of making to the tune of $180,000 by defrauding 707 people in 27 illegal raffles held from 2004 through 2009. According to the attorney general's office, only $29,500 was distributed to charities. Some charities reported receiving nothing.

http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=20988

[Quinn]

Sloan Kettering is named as being defrauded in the 5 count indictment.

http://www.timescall.com/assets/pdf/022610Schifter_indictment.pdf

[GirgleMirt]

Wow! Awesome! Of course, it's not awesome that there are such crooks out there, but at least that they're being brought to justice... Seems this took a long time happening. But great news! Thanks for the heads up!

[Quinn]

The Denver Post has picked up the story.... http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14478539?source=rss

[Quinn]

The Boulder news picked up the story with this added bit...

"Schifter was arrested on Friday afternoon and booked into the Boulder County Jail."

http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_14478154#ixzz0ghq1KH8H

[Quinn]

USA TODAY......

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/article/Organizations/Non-profits,+Activist+Groups/American+Red+Cross/0eYR3zD7IU4si/1

[muzz]

Wow..................:mad:

[davef]

I haven’t quite sorted out how I feel about all of this…

Surprisingly, I am quite saddened and I wish things could have been resolved on their own. Unfortunately, it became quite apparent that was never going to happen… I have received many emails and phone calls wishing me and my family well and that “justice has been served”… Perhaps it has, but I certainly do not feel any sense of relief or that any weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

The emotional damage that this situation caused has really destroyed me.

My father’s suffering was truly tragic. He endured 5 years of intensive, brutal and often inhumane treatments to try and extend his life for his children (me) and his grandchildren (my kids). We suffered right there with him and I fight with myself on a daily basis to move past that time period so I can be productive, both professionally and as a father. I have never considered myself a “victim” of anything, I am (was) of the belief that we fully control our own destiny. However, I am sadly starting to see things differently…

For me, this entire issue has become a major emotional struggle. The audio industry has been my profession for over 26 years now. It has brought me great pleasure and relaxation and has allowed me to provide what I think is a decent life for my children, which is all I really aim for these days. Unfortunately, my business – my hobby, my passion has been forever tainted. All the “MLS” news headlines, forum chatter, emails – all it does is continually remind me of a time period in my life that I must try to forget. My “job” has become permanently associated with my father’s struggles – and if it were simply a day job to me, I would already be doing something else – anything, so that I could move past this.

I have been full of sadness this entire weekend… And while I am happy that these shenanigans have finally come to an end, and even happier that some money might finally go to those in need (the amounts involved are staggering to me), for me – I feel no sense of relief or resolution. A while back I pleaded with Mark to talk to me about this, to offer explanation so I could understand, so that I could have some type of closure... I was ignored.

That closure will now, most certainly, never come…

Respectfully, I am going to ask all of you to avoid discussing this publicly as much as possible – or at least try to avoid mentioning my father or the events that took place surrounding him. I am not in a position where I can simply ignore emails and forum posts so every time I read something that refers to what happened to him, or to my family (and there have been dozens of posts on various forums) – it makes me cringe and feel like I have taken two steps backwards.

This is an incredibly complex and deeply emotional situation for me to be in and I don’t have the time or financial means for the thousands of hours of therapy I am quite sure I need :(

Thank you in advance for your understanding…