I get that there are some outsiders very pissed off. A couple have been vocal in the more recent posts in this thread. The bitch of all of this is everything The Buzzard said is correct. I'm all about doing what is necessary for those who have been wronged getting what is theirs. I also understand how this works. There is no FBI. There is no police. No sheriff. None of that. We all entered into a verbal contract, and it is a civil matter. Most likely even in Christian's place. We all sent Steve our money or parts. He didn't steal the parts. He didn't steal the money.
The simple fact, in the eyes of the law, is that he has failed to deliver on a contract. Contracts do not have to be in writing. A contract can be made over the phone, via email, or even by text. This is not a criminal matter. What Steve has done may certainly strike you as "criminal". It certainly pisses me off since I'm one of the people owed something. I'm owed far less than most. It still bothers me. But he hasn't done anything criminal. At this point he has just "been in the weeds", or "behind", or whatever. Its nearly impossible to prove criminal intent. It has certainly been proven he is not a man of his word. He might even be lazy, or a scumbag, or a raging piece of siht. But, you can't prove that he intended to defraud anyone. His defense, a perfect one at that, is that he is just lazy and never sent the product out.
Further, suing him will accomplish nothing. Sure, you get a group together and get a judgement for $15,000 (for nice round numbers). All you have is a judgement. You don't have cash. You have nothing more than a piece of paper. Hell, if I could judge my net worth on judgements, I'd be worth about $5,000,000 more than I am now. Judgements are simply ignored or the defendant will just file for bankruptcy and you're left with nothing other than a lot of money out of your pocket, wasted on a now-useless judgement.
For all of you who think I don't know what I'm talking about....I have spent about as much time in court as some 3rd year attorneys. I get judgements on people on a weekly basis. I know the judges around here on a first name basis.
I'm out money on this crap. If I'm telling you there is little possibility of getting anything, I'm not doing it to protect Steve. I'm being realistic. It pisses me off to no end. If you really want to get retribution, hit him in his pocket. Talk to his buyers, suppliers, fans, enemies, etc. Make his bad reputation precede him no matter where he goes. This is the only real pressure you can put on him.
Or you can just go out there to his shop and do whatever you please.
