How did you "accidentally" do something that was so obviously not allowed?
I only created it because I had Google Play Credits that were gifted to me. I built an app to "convert" them to cash for myself. I had never built an app before. I was proud of it and tried to make it pretty and professional and useful for others, and used it as a learning experience. The listing on the Play Store was clear about what it was.
I had to answer questions about what the API was being used for when I signed up for Dwolla (an actual regulated money transference service). I answered honestly. They approved it.
The app sat unused with no downloads for years before someone on Reddit's `r/churning/` posted about it.
I guess if you're young...
I created it back in 2011 or 2012.
It wasn't a gift card that personally motivated me to make this. It was credits from an online referral program I was gifted. I guarantee I did not read the fine print at that time.
The process is just not obvious and usually not accessible to everyone.
It isn't some new idea, he just didn't follow all the rules doing it!
This is very untrue - there's a ton of services that do this and while it is against the ToS sometimes, there's plenty of place where ToS of this type are not legal and so you are perfectly within your rights to resell a gift card for money.
I went ahead and did a web search on this, and found that I misremembered it. It wasn't that the laundry detergent was initially purchased with a public benefit program, it was outright stolen.
https://reason.org/commentary/sound-money-tide-as-gold-stand...
Still, variations on the scam with benefit programs are still run.