The stories that were commissioned and the Patreon are two separate things, though he intended to post the former to the latter, provided the person paying allowed him to.
I couldn’t say if TaintedSins is outright scamming people, but his requests for money are definitely designed to tug at your heartstrings.
About two years ago, he made a post on the AR Archive forum describing how his fiancé died in his arms of a brain aneurysm while they slept. The wedding was less than a month away and they had been looking at houses and thinking about kids. This tragedy led him down a dark path, the liquor store, hospitalizations in the psych ward and eventually an assisted living facility.
To make a long story short, he owed the pharmacy a thousand dollars and needed to pay $30 or else they would cut off his prescriptions. He had several projects in the works that might get him the necessary funds, if he could finish them in time. He asked friends and family for help. He was shunned by his religious relatives and his supposed friends he met at university, people who had the resources to help him, wouldn’t give him a dollar.
So, he made a post on their Facebook page, "Who's more moral, philosophers or fiction writers/readers?" in addition to a similar one on the AR Archive. He linked to a GoFundMe and the results would speak for themselves. On this page, he detailed his myriad of medical issues and ended up raising $420 out of a goal of $1000.
About two months later, there was an update to please help save his cat. She had breathing problems, the same as him, and he wanted to take her to the vet.
About a year later, he was back on the AR Archive forum with an apology and an advertisement that he was open to doing commissions. This was an opportunity that was not to be missed. His commissions were priced to move at $50 each, discounted from his standard fee of $200 and they were only available for a very limited time. He desperately needed $100 for the co-pay to see a doctor and another $100 for web design expenses and also pain medication. He said this might be the last time he ever does private commissions at $50 and the price would rise to $200 or $400 once everyone was reminded of what he could do.
A week later, he asked for $38.50 to keep the power on and discounted his story commission price to that amount. He also said the stories he was writing would all be intertwined as part of an interactive multimedia serial novel.
About two months later, he apologized for his unexplained absence. He claimed to have been in a serious car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned him. He cracked his ribs, ruptured his colon and had to undergo several surgeries.
About 3 weeks after that, he stopped replying to emails again. One person tried to get into contact with him for a couple of weeks. After not getting a reply, they proceeded to dispute their payment with PayPal. Weeks later, he apologized for missing their messages. He was in the hospital and was otherwise unaware of any correspondences when he wasn’t.
A month later there was another misunderstanding, this time with his internet provider. To stay online, he needed $170 ASAP.
This is not to say that he hasn’t done anything. There are some stories posted on his Patreon, along with videos and podcasts. As far as they are concerned, he hasn't done anything wrong. A creator doesn't have to actually make anything, the site can be used as a way to support an artist you like. If someone is unhappy with their output, they are free to discontinue their pledge at any time.
I don’t know the man at all, but as an outsider reading his ramblings, I think there is a possibility that he said whatever was necessary to get people to give him money. For those who commissioned a story off of him, his bait to lure people in quickly was with low prices, lofty promises and a limited time offer. It is unfortunate that his writings have been derailed by several incidents since then. These either explained why he hasn’t been doing what he said he would or why he wouldn’t be able to.
When the power and internet were about to go off, people could either pay him or expect delays. When he disappeared for months, he came back with a harrowing tale to tell. When he was incommunicado again and someone wanted a refund, that threw a monkey wrench into the whole operation. These stories that were commissioned were all going to be connected and the removal of one meant he had to scrap the outline he had for the entire anthology.
You can’t get your story because he has to a run a contest to determine who will replace the person who doesn’t want to be financially involved anymore. And to write that story, he needs to talk with the winner and see what they want and adapt that to the overall plot. It’s all very complicated and time consuming, but if you stick around it’ll be the best thing ever. An audio/visual experience for the ages.
The situation pretty much played out how TaintedSins said it would from the outset.
Hello all. And when I say that, I do so knowing full well I'm coming in as the asshole. Last time you saw me I was spinning promises of not just all new stories, but a new way of telling stories, then I asked for money, then I just vanished.