This is my interpretation as well - as more and more money rolled in it must have been all too easy to allow yourself to get carried away and start seeing both the film and yourself as far more than they are. They got far more than they asked for, that shouldn't say "let's get some offices and paid staff", it should say "let's make what we're filming as good as we can, cos we can now afford better costumes/props/effects than we planned" or even "let's save that cash and make a sequel". Even without the lawsuit, Axanar was heading for a financial black hole because they got way too ambitious and self important.I see more evidence of mission creep once the dough started rolling in than planning at the outset to bilk fans, and I don't think there's anyway they could have planned all this before the first fundraiser.