I kept asking for the reimbursement and back-pay promised earlier, some months later they just refused, and I was not paid. I was offered stock options (not even stock/equity) instead of money. That's when my team and I saw the crap going down and started preparing for the worst.
You need to have all your communication about this problem documented, including if possible the responses from the CEO and others.
You may need to consult an employment advisor or lawyer for advice, if your department of labour can't provide this to you. You need to be crystal clear about your situation and repercussions if you choose to torpedo this company.
If things are really as bad as you say they are, you don't need to be too worried about your reputation - I have been through this situation and it is not hard to manage. As for co-workers, I sympathise with their plight, but you need decide for yourself how much you value your career (or don't) by not taking action now. Also, your co-workers ought to be smart enough to see what's happening.
In my situation, I went and spoke to a government officer in our department of labour. She told me that I needed to engage a lawyer in my situation. Legal fees would have been greater than the money I was owed. In the end, I filed a police report for the record, with complete documentation on everything that happened and details of the compensation owed to me.
I lost a few thousand dollars, chalked it up to experience and moved on. The company's office in my country had to close, their hardware and other equipment was seized for non-payment of rent, and they wasted many times the money they could have just paid me to build a great product. As for the product, their launch was delayed 20-24 months but I believe they did get something out.
What's even more pitiful is that they had a few million in funds, were already cash-flow positive on a previous product, and could easily afford to pay what's due.
Bottom line - if the company is run by a money-grubbing skinflint with a tendency to shaft his employees, you have every right to do what's good for you.
Thank you to all who commented. The general advice of get a lawyer is absolutely correct, I had not considered the potential backlash this could have on me if my name is associated with their illegal practices.
Calls to 'name and shame, while cathartic, probably aren't going to be very useful. There isn't a database of bad actors that has any reputability, and the legal consequences may be dire.
I'm just about scraping by without wages, so the ideal course of action seems to be to try and get a cheap/free initial consultation from an appropriate lawyer before deciding on what to say to the unemployment services. I think, however, getting a new job pronto would be a better use of my time, though both may be possible. Luckily, I have no dependants so the mistake is mine.
I don't expect to see any wages from this company, the CEO appears to be living in another world to the point of giving me more work to do after bluntly being told I couldn't make rent this month, and I'd borrowed to make last month's. As many have said, never work for free, never work without a contract in place (or cash in your hand). Why assume other people's risks when there's information asymmetry?
With respect to the code, IP suits are probably the most painful type of suit, so I'll hold off on pursuing them unless they happen to hit it big. And if they don't, there's nothing to claim for anyway.
I'm not happy about the prospect of ruining the equity of my co-workers, worthless as it may be, so unless I'm really having a hard time getting another job, I won't apply for unemployment benefit. Painful as it is to continue to suffer a loss for this, I think the relatively small amount might be worth avoiding the fallout.
For those requesting the country, as this has quietened down a little I can tell you it's Ireland. The laws on employee/contractor and IP assignment are relatively clear here, but, obviously, a lawyer is required.
I have been taken for a fool, please learn from my mistakes.