Yea, if they wanted to get paid/severance, they had to do what they were asked to do. Seems reasonable? It sucks that someone else got their job but they were under no obligation to stick around unless they wanted to get paid.
The point of the article isn't that someone else got their job, it's that someone else was imported to take their job under the guise of a program that is intended to fill labor shortages at the prevailing wage, not as a means of achieving a cheaper workforce.
And if you didn't want your dick pics leaked, then you had to pay the fee that the person was asking for. Seems reasonable?