Sonitus Medical is Out of Business (SoundBite)

[arizonajack]

I warned you all back in 2012 and people didn't believe.   The chair of  GW ENT was very angry at me for these posts as was Dr. Monfared.

http://www.anausa.org/smf/index.php?action=search2

Mei Mei

That link doesn't work but here's a link to one of the pages discussing SoundBite in 2012 that contains your prophetic admonition:

http://www.anausa.org/smf/index.php?topic=10753.15

[Mei Mei]

Thank you....I just feel badly for all these people that got duped.     I asked the DC Local Support Group to invite my audiologist to present all the options but they never call him so I dropped out of the DC Group.    They instead were having the GW doc keep coming so I was not that happy with the DC Group.   I instead prefer the NYC and Boston Group nearby relatively so for good and impartial information.    The GW docs are not speaking to me.

[arizonajack]

My local group had a SoundBite demo about 2 years ago. I tested one, it didn't work. The demonstrator was having trouble with a couple of the others. I wasn't impressed with the gimmick in the first place.

[kbroucek1]

Can someone explain this, please!  You probably received the email from Sonitus with the attachment to submit a proof of claim and documentation to Luvocracy LLC.  The address is a PO Box in Mountain View, CA and their email appears to be for Sherwood Partners.  I googled Luvocracy LLC and I don't understand how they are involved and who needs to fill out a claim form. Can someone explain this to me?  I have a Soundbite, paid in full, and a warranty without a company to honor it.
Thanks!

[arizonajack]

Can someone explain this, please!  You probably received the email from Sonitus with the attachment to submit a proof of claim and documentation to Luvocracy LLC.  The address is a PO Box in Mountain View, CA and their email appears to be for Sherwood Partners.  I googled Luvocracy LLC and I don't understand how they are involved and who needs to fill out a claim form. Can someone explain this to me?  I have a Soundbite, paid in full, and a warranty without a company to honor it.
Thanks!

I don't know where people are getting that Luvocracy LLC from.

A person or business would fill out a claim form if that person or business was a creditor of Sonitus.

Notice is sent to all customers because a customer can potentially become a creditor.

For example, if you needed warranty work and the company wouldn't perform it you'd have to get your repairs done elsewhere, pay for them, and file a claim with Sonitus (Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors), LLC.

If you paid for your product and didn't get it you file a claim for the amount you paid.

If you are, or expect to become, a creditor of Sonitus, please go to the following link:

http://www.proofofclaims.com/Sonitus/documents/

There you will see links to four documents that you can read on your computer if you have Adobe Reader (or probably any pdf reader).

Those documents are:

Sonitus - Notice: This is the notice to creditors about the assignment from Sonitus Medical, Inc. to Sonitus (Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors), LLC (an unrelated company apparently created to handle creditors so Sonitus Medical, Inc doesn't have to). The notice provides an address for the claim form and a deadline date of 8/10/15 to submit one's claim.

Sonitus - General Assignment Agreement: This is the contract between Sonitus Medical, Inc and Sonitus (Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors), LLC.

Sonitus - Proof of Claim Form Instructions: Self Explanatory.

Sonitus - Proof of Claim Form: Self Explanatory.

Note: There is also an online form at:

https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=F9NKXh03uZ7UZHgg%2Av1OmA#

Sherwood Partners is not mentioned in any of the documents. However, my guess is that Sherwood Partners created the LLC because the address for Sherwood Partners (1100 La Avenida Street, Building A, Mountain View CA 94043

http://www.shrwood.com/Contact-Us

Is the same as Sonitus (Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors), LLC according to California's Secretary of State's LLC search.

Entity Name: SONITUS (ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS), LLC
Entity Number: 201503510516
Date Filed: 02/04/2015
Status: ACTIVE
Jurisdiction: CALIFORNIA
Entity Address: 1100 LA AVENIDA ST BUILDING A
Entity City, State, Zip: MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 94043
Agent for Service of Process: MICHAEL A MAIDY
Agent Address: 1100 LA AVENIDA ST BUILDING A
Agent City, State, Zip: MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 94043

[ANGuy]

If they had my property, and refused to send it back, I would be looking at this:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=484-502.9

[arizonajack]

If they had my property, and refused to send it back, I would be looking at this:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=484-502.9

And you'd get nowhere. The police would tell you it's a civil matter (breach of contract) and wouldn't likely to take a report. Even if they did take a report, there would be no action on it.

[ANGuy]

If they had my property, and refused to send it back, I would be looking at this:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=484-502.9

And you'd get nowhere. The police would tell you it's a civil matter (breach of contract) and wouldn't likely to take a report. Even if they did take a report, there would be no action on it.

It depends on the cop and the department.  I worked for a slack department with slack cops who would try to bushel just about anything off as a "civil matter".  I was a square peg there and often pursued such matters.  I had the whole detective bureau and no less than 3 supervisors all the way up to deputy chief try to get me to bushel off a report I had already written one time where a group of scum were defrauding an old lady who suffered from dementia.  All three suspects ultimately plead out to 24 month prison terms and it was their second offense against the same woman.  In a county where murder could be plead out to simple assault, 24 months on a plea is a big deal.  So much for what "everybody" thinks.

Also, you don't need the police to file a criminal complaint.  I'm surprised you don't know this.  All you need is an affidavit to the court clerk and you can file your own.  Also, there is the Attorney General's office.  You'd be surprised at how a phone call from an AG's office can get the "impossible" done in minutes.

Better to light a candle than curse the darkness I always say.

Intentionally withholding the property of another is THEFT in any state.  Add in any interstate correspondence regarding same and it may be mail fraud which can get action for the Postal Inspectors involved.  You'd be surprised how quick that device sitting on a shelf can suddenly end up in the mail on it's way back to it's rightful owner.

There is also "Theft by Deception".  This involves creating a "false impression" to commit larceny.  The standard needed to charge someone is "Probable Cause".  PC is lower than even "Preponderance of Evidence", it's very low standard.  Judges know this, people who watch TV shows don't.  You don't need "Clear and Convincing" evidence to file a criminal charge.  Get the charge filed and see how fast the suspects might look to resolve the situation.

I don't know enough about the intentions of sonitus.  There are some suggestions that they were nothing more than a fraud from the getgo.  Or, maybe they were legit and just failed due to various business reasons.  Either way, if they cost me ten grand and tried to skip out on it, I'd be trying to give them a little payback instead of sending them continued payments and hoping all works out well.

[arizonajack]

I don't know enough about the intentions of sonitus.  There are some suggestions that they were nothing more than a fraud from the getgo.  Or, maybe they were legit and just failed due to various business reasons.  Either way, if they cost me ten grand and tried to skip out on it, I'd be trying to give them a little payback instead of sending them continued payments and hoping all works out well.

OK. You know best.

[ANGuy]

OK. You know best.

Oh, I'm truly sorry that my real life experiences prosecuting actual real life frauds has your knickers all bunched up.  I'll make it a point to deffer to your unchallenged wisdom instead of engaging in the free exchange of ideas next time so as not to upset you

[ppearl214]

Hi all,

Although the information you're sharing here is highly valuable, we must reset your tone in which your sharing the information. Everybody is offering wonderful insight and yet I remind everybody to be respectful of others experiences and insights. Please be respectful of one another out here.

I am watching this thread carefully. Thank you

Phyl

[arizonajack]

OK. You know best.

Oh, I'm truly sorry that my real life experiences prosecuting actual real life frauds has your knickers all bunched up.  I'll make it a point to deffer to your unchallenged wisdom instead of engaging in the free exchange of ideas next time so as not to upset you

OK, you win.

[Mei Mei]

   I really feel badly that so many of you got hurt and are still hurting.   For future reference to get over the hurt, check out a company and if they say it is a pilot study which they did in the papers GW presented to me or the email, then don't bring the pen to the table as with the Time Share Tables.   If it is a Pilot, then you are buying a Beta version as I posted somewhere here before.   Other people are getting it for free and then google the Clinical Trials which I did and Voila, up they jumped and Sonitus was in NIH Clinical trials and other people were getting it for free.   It smelled bad.   So I took my pen and went home.   I didn't win the Ms. Congeniality contest but my credit card didn't melt either.   Medicine is a business just as cars and mortgages and Time Shares.

[ginsue]

Well I received a bill from somebody.  It is the letterhead from Sonitus with a phone number on it. The number 650-739-3188 is a Tracfone Mobile in Palo Alto CA.  No answer, imagine that.  I was directed to Debbie Johnston's voice mail and asked her to return my call asking for document that they are legally able to collect on Sonitus' behave.  Wikipedia stated that they filed bankruptcy Thursday January 15, 2015 once Medicare refused to pay for the device. 

The saga continues..........

[arizonajack]

Wikipedia stated that they filed bankruptcy Thursday January 15, 2015

Wikipedia is wrong. I check the US Bankruptcy Court search feature (PACER) periodically (including just now) and there is no bankruptcy case listed for Sonitus.

Where Wikipedia makes the erroneous statement it refers to a footnote source that doesn't mention bankruptcy. See for yourself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundBite_Hearing_System