Scam Warning for Writers

Hanh mitakuyapi. I don't have much patience with whining, but I'm fond of complaining when complaint is due. This post is a complaint as well as a warning.
Recently there have been sites coming out on the Web for writers. Some of them promise payment for your writings. They appear to be practice sites as well as posting places for aspiring writers.
I'm not an "aspiring" writer - I've got over 30 copyrights; I've been published since high school (when guys went around in iron suits, rescuing damsels and fighting dragons..) The site interested me, though, so I began to read and rate for one of them - Helium.
Until very recently, I was the "Job Search" sub-channel steward for this site. They promise payment for "contestants" who read and write for the site, so over the winter, I wrote and rated enough for the site to receive an email from them telling me I had earned $194.00 in a "competition" that was to end April 14, 2008.
Suddenly on April 2, 2008, I could not access the site. Others tried and they couldn't access my account, either. It was there, but I couldn't get "on". I immediately became suspicious. My contacts further up the hierarchy assured me there was no reason for my suspicions, and they felt "terrible" on my behalf. They did what they could to straighten out the problem, they said.
Except it didn't straighten out, and ultimately, the highest ranking of these people told me she "had" to go along with "the wisdom of those higher up" who "have a bigger view" of the site and those who write for it - they weren't paying me the $194.00 the email stated unequivocally I had earned. I had definitely earned it; there is no doubt.
I lambasted her and them and left the site.
So - if you are an "aspiring" writer looking for pay for your words - avoid "Helium". We can't say they're full of hot air over there, but we can say you can't breathe their atmosphere and survive over there, and they are nothing but dishonest and a scam.