"what kind of event could transpire to transform an earnest, honest company into a scam?"
Look up what Gabriel's wife was making as CFF. I believe it was close to double what her replacement got. Look up all the forcasts of great doings down the road which are now not talked about. Look up the size of the float and the relationship with Tampa Bay, La Jolla, and Dutchess which DNAG may never be able to recover from. I emailed them weeks ago to ask if there have been layoffs or if people have left recently. No response.
My definition of a scam is a company that is significantly mismanaged and or has been deliberately misleading. This could turn out to be true with DNAG. DNAG could also turn out to be a great success story. I am honest enough to look at both possiblities which makes me honest enough to be called a basher on this board.