It was an obvious scam from the beginning, but plenty of people had their doubts. I think now it's pretty safe to say that yes, it was all a scam.
Here's the thread for reference:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=179917.msg2143682#msg2143682I called out miningunited on it many times, but s/he never directly refuted my accusations. The site is now down, but I'm kind of irritated that miningunited's account is still active and posting without a scammer tag. Is it time to bring down the hammer?