Something similar happened to me during the dotcom era. I was poached from a very nice job at an airline by someone I did work for on the side who always paid

Something similar happened to me during the dotcom era. I was poached from a very nice job at an airline by someone I did work for on the side who always paid well. The salary he offered me was about 20% higher, plus he offered a massive cash payout over the first few months. I quit my job and joined this company, only to find out that the cash was based on his businesses selling a lot of equity to a large company, and I was part of the deal. The deal fell through as I joined, probably because it became apparent to the investor that the guy was a crook. I was paid a third of my salary for several months and left with a lot of debt. I really should have sued when I was back on my feet again, but I didn't really want to deal with this guy any more.