Over the past two years, I’ve helped a small business owner staff concession events for major sporting events throughout the country. Initially, all went well. I provided the labor and everyone was paid as agreed. Last year, we worked 4 events from April – August and were only paid for one of them. The owner continually made promises to pay. However, he never did. In total, there are 47 individuals who were never paid for work they performed. Outstanding earnings range from $350 – $6000. Because I was the one who recruited the majority of the people, I feel a responsibility to help them. Workers include college and high school students, single moms and disabled veterans. Many have faced hardships due to the non payment. One person lost a vehicle to repossession. One had her items in storage sold. A college student lost their housing and the list goes on. We have called a few of the vendors that have contracts with the business owner and although they’ve been sympathetic, there has been little they can do. 
This text exchange happened almost a year ago. To date, I haven’t received any further communication or payment. A few members of the team notified me that he was still making promises to pay about two months ago.