Kind of the same happened to me. When the company began to go south, they started to delay payments. And when they finally ran out of money, we've been let go but the last, quite substantial payments were not honored and they simply ignored our messages. Luckily things worked out eventually, but I was already getting prepared for not getting paid.
If you’re in the US, always involve your state’s department of labor. That activates a pack of pitbulls who are more than happy to get your money for you.
