Thanks, Barb, I held back this post for days ~ needed to pause, step away and take a breather. I was angry.

This evening, I received a response from ARIEL MEADOW STALLINGS, Medium Director for Growth.

She relaid there has been fraudulent activity and investigation. Medium is working on it.
Again, I am grateful but I am one of many writers who should be informed of this. Waiting to share any news only risks the well-being of this community.

https://arielist.medium.com/heya-im-medium-s-director-of-publication-relations-and-just-wanted-to-report-in-here-f4b08504133d