He said this was his life's work.

If I put my life's work into a legitimate business and was about ready to launch it, I wouldn't let naysayers keep me from going through with my project.

However, if I were running a scam, and got called out and ostracized by the community I was trying to scam...I would've done exactly what Matt did.

What you do speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying

In my assessment of this situation, his actions speak louder than any words.