Design Crowd not Paying Designers San Francisco California

Design Crowd is a scam. I joined just recently to earn some extra income from freelance graphic design. I submitted several designs sponsored and paid for by a client (not the website or Design Crowd). I was paid on time for my first winning design. On the 2nd, I had to email and inquire about where my payment was. The TOS states payments are issued through PayPal within 5 days. My most recent win was in early January.

On January 17th, the client selected my design and I received notice from Design Crowd that the client had paid. Since then, I have emailed 5 or 6 times, always being told it will be processed soon or that the "payment department" will be notified. The most recent email said they are behind and short staffed and that other designers arent being paid either. It has now been close to one month and I have not received my payment, even though Design Crowd was paid. 

Design Crowd takes a percentage of the job fee from the designer and charges the client to post their project. Why must they hold onto the designer's payment, when they are in possession of it prior to the start of a project?

I now believe that they do not intend to pay me what they owe me and that they are running a scam. I advise against participating in their service and hope that someone will look into this ripoff!