Is it a straight up clone and re-name like so many coins that get put on here (and still get traded for some reason, how many "lite" versions of coins do we really need)?
Yes, that's
exactly what it is. Look at the github and look at his commits. Even the markdown on the main github page is almost identical, including grammatical errors, with only a few minor changes and instances of the text "Dynamic" replaced with "Credits". You are attempting to reframe the issue by asking me why a developer shouldn't receive a payout. The issue is that he is not a developer in this context--copy-pasting does not make you a developer. At most, he is a marketer.
The dev has already explained what has been done (and why, non working functions etc).
No this is not an exact clone of a coin, Pascal-Lite is a 1:1 clone of a coin with the word lite on the end.
I'm guessing you have lots of proof that they aren't a "real" dev?
Everything is all out in the open. No-one has claimed it's a brand new algo etc.
Your still posting FUD.
--Edit--
Why re-invent the wheel, once an algo has been picked there wouldn't be much different between the coins anyway? Nothing wrong with fixing a broken wheel.