If it is true that the money paid for pre-ordering the 835 parts was lost to them, then you have a good point, indeed.
But, admittedly, I've always wondered whether there was actual evidence for that 'bastards-took-the-money-and-ran' narrative ...
They way I read F(x)tec's statements was that they (pre-)ordered the 835 SoCs and related parts in late 2020 and made an advance payment for those things. As @VaZso points out, part of this pre-ordering may have been done by their manufacturer, rather than by themselves.
Then, in early 2021, their suppliers informed them they could no