No fan of VMC, but if they're real, well then, why not just form a small miners coop, take the chips, and collectively negotiate assembly by VMC (or other bidders, if any) onto boards?

Put them into Ch 11 with a trustee. Distribute chips:

Unpaid BJ MPP = 5 chips.
Unpaid Upgrade board = 1 chip.
Unpaid Sierra = 3 chips.
Etc.

If you agreed to kick money back to Hashfast, the chips you receive are discounted accordingly.

If there are chips left over, these are distributed on a curve according to who has been waiting the longest.

Yoli design, suppliers, etc is published, or available to any customer (really, available to any legit assembler).

HF ceases to exist.  Some of them hopefully go to jail.

Small guys band together and collectively negotiate assembly for all of their chips with VMC and any other offerors, which might include Liquidbits or its contractor, if it has really tooled up for the job.