selling out is not respectable. Selling out your colleagues is even less so.
Every person is offered deals by the devil before their real ship comes in. This is to separate the wicked from the good. People who are evil at heart will take the deal with the devil. People who are good will understand that money is not their solution (may be the root of all evil), and they should not taint their soul in order to make a few bucks.
Everybody falls, it may be that people who take dirty money fall harder. (needs study)
Disclaimer: I'm not suggesting any religious explanation for this phenomena, so any that you perceive is your own delusion. I'm simply stating what is observable, and likely fact (needs study). Dirty money comes first. Honest money comes after hard work and usually when the chips seem down.