"One day he got an email from someone - likely someone making $150-$200k- more or less demanding that he review and accept some PRs, as well as do some work himself, for a feature they needed."
This is called a 'business opportunity'.
Seriously, people are going to ask you for free stuff all the time.
Sometimes they'll be up front about it (as in, "we don't have budget for that, but can you still help us out?"), and sometimes they just won't specify initially if they are willing to pay or not (ie, they'll just make a demand).
Every interaction is a negotiation, even if you are led to believe otherwise.
This is called a 'business opportunity'.
Seriously, people are going to ask you for free stuff all the time.
Sometimes they'll be up front about it (as in, "we don't have budget for that, but can you still help us out?"), and sometimes they just won't specify initially if they are willing to pay or not (ie, they'll just make a demand).
Every interaction is a negotiation, even if you are led to believe otherwise.