I was thinking he would have been employed. That said, Johnson is obviously a swindler, so it's not a stretch to think he may have been paying people (or offering to) under the table.
In any case, there may be no direct link to Steven, but perhaps to someone he knew. Johnson did manage to remain an "upstanding" and revered member of the community and the church, and even now appears to have plenty of supporters.
Sure, under the table is possible -- but there wasn't that much work to do. All it entailed, was taking people's money via a website, and it went on for at least 8 years. .
When they complained, a new (fake) authorization was created to use their credit card was used on another "company". It was all done among insiders, and the bank.
The reason I pulled the list of fraudulent companies, was to see if I recognized any, in relation to Steven. I haven't heard back, as to whether Steven had filed a credit card fraud claim.