This happens occasionally in corporate sales as well and I've heard some horror stories about it.

Salesperson closes a big contract with a client, the client actually pays or makes payments on time and everything, but the salesperson's own company drags their feet and tries to withhold commissions way past when they should, with the intention of not paying it out. If the company is especially unscrupulous, they fire the salesperson and make them fight for the commission in the unemployment suit.

On a smaller scale, this happens fairly frequently at used car dealerships. You're owned a 15k commission check where you hit the bonuses and multipliers and they say fuck you, keep waiting.

Something like this happened to me years ago where after a buyout none of us had gotten or base salaries or commissions... for weeks past when it should have been. We closed the business early and took anything not nailed down and told them they aren't getting shit until we get our money. Lot's of scare tactics and threats but we held firm. I don't know if the other people got paid, but after a couple days with no employees at our branch and thousands of dollars worth of hardware missing, they very begrudgingly paid out me and another guy in cash for exchange for their hardware.