True, it's easier for a project team to kill a project on their own if they have enough funds and it meets their goal. If people lost interest in project then they could abandon it without anyone's care since the price also low. Sometimes, bounty or airdrop is just a ploy in their scheme.
I think what happened all this time was just like you said. The bounty and airdrop hunter are only scapegoats as a reason for the team to flee with all the investors' money.