I don’t know what jello is. Is it just plain jelly? Regards, the non-american world (I assume)

You’re right, but you can’t use the word ‘scam’ for it. It’s an avenue that should be explored fully and may or may not lead somewhere. A scam would imply it’s a conspiracy where the players already know the unsuccessful end result, but are hiding it and using funding or similar for other end purposes.