I just saw the new post by Zeartul, promising to pay back everyone he owes.
When I sent money to Zeartul's Bellyrubbank, I knew it was a risk. I knew the interest he was paying seemed too high, and I thought I would just send a little to see how he managed it. I liked the idea of smaller accounts being able to invest in a voting bot at whatever level they could afford, and I wanted to support it. I considered that he was running a witness and had some other large accounts renting or delegating Steem to him. I figured in order to scam anyone he was going to wreck his own goals on SteemIt. I took a risk, and it wasn't a good one. It is a good lesson in how fast someone can disappear and "Break Bad" in Internet land.
There were warning signs all along the way. He was unorganized, he kept changing the terms of when and how he was going to payout the interest. He didn't specify what his policies were on withdrawing funds from Bellyrubbank would be. His deals on Bellyrub bot and the Steem he was being delegated kept falling apart. There were plenty of signs. Once those SBDs were sent there was little hope of getting them back.
While I hope he does want to attempt to make things right and that he pays back those he owes. I am not holding my breath.
Be careful out there Steemians, we really don't know who many of these people are.
https://steemit.com/ownuptomistake/@zeartul/powering-down-acccount-zeartul-to-make-all-paymemts-owed
