Bounty participants will not be paid if the project fails. if the project has reached softcap, then the bounnty participant must be paid, if there is no payment, it can be reported as an indication of a scam.
Yes, you're right. If the softcap hasn't been reached, they have not enough money to continue the project. So they have right not to pay for participants. That's a rule and it's stated on bounty information