Like the rank and file of Hollywood's creative community needed another hit to the wallet. The apparent collapse of Axium, a payroll company that abruptly closed its doors this week, leaving hundreds jobless and possibly thousands with checks that will bounce, if they see them at all.

Defamer compared it to the Enron accounting scandal, and some similarities definitely exist. With the strike dragging on and rumors of layoffs hitting the mill daily, it's getting hard to make a living in Tinseltown. Axium is no start-up; they've been processing payroll for years, and had a solid reputation. What happened?

Many believe that executives at Axium had their hand in the till, or somehow mismanaged funds. Perhaps, like Enron, financial earnings were falsified and the true scope of their debt was hidden. More ominous for those who are owed by Axium - they filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means they don't even have to pay their 350 employees for their last week or so of work.

Will the owners of Axium be held liable in any way? It's too soon to tell, although The Hollywood Reporter says that company president Ruben Rodriguez has resigned and is being investigated by the IRS. Companies that used Axium also have to worry whether the company paid and filed their employees' withholding taxes as well. Axium's own employees never saw it coming: they were notified by email not to show up for work and that they are most likely not going to be paid for their last week or two.