I'd say you have nailed it. Lots of folks just lost lots of money.........you'd think it was a penny stock scam. I always spoke of the odds of this being a scam proves you don't beat the odds.
What about bringing in huge capital from investors and partners by issuing then shares? Would that not bring in $$$$??? 1000 shares of Alibaba are currently worth $183,000. And look at their OS and AS! Ummmmm are you purposely ignoring this possibility?