Pat, respect your opinion as always, but IF ( emphasis on IF) it turns out that Scotty has lied to us about the situation then he is guilty as charged. As guilty as the thieves who stole the money? I dunno, but does it really matter who's the bigger schyster at that point?
No matter what the turnout is, he's certainly no Rick (Allworld) who, while the same kind of shite was shaking down at his book DID actually close the doors to deposits and stopped taking bets.