I see your point. If they get a lot of donations and actually the said software will never be released or is poorly made, that can be said a development scam. On the other hand, if hypothetically UI is outsourced, a price tag like that may be rather usual.

If Haveno is released and actually works well, perhaps people will overlook questionable financial aspects related to development/management. Bisq too might have somewhat shady aspects if you ask how Bisq fees are used and distributed, although the project may not be sustainable if all the devs have to work without getting paid. Also one could question the nature of its native coin BSQ (which is basically just BTC dust, colored and sold high; conceptually it may be a good system, though if you use BSQ, the fact that you’re a Bisq user is trivially visible to everyone).

Ultimately there are two kinds of people in a community like this: philosopher-type idealists (who tend to be disillusioned eventually as reality is obviously not idealistic), and for-profit business-minded persons (who may be able to get rich quick if they make a “smart” move). While idealistic volunteers are respectable, business people are also realistically important as they may provide a lot of useful services. If they “overdo“, there will be of course ethical questions, though… You boldly pointed out something touchy but important; kudos.