I just don't think many people considered that this guy was cheating.
Prior to the now famous BQ meltdown cheater and Marathon Investigation, it honestly never occurred to me that age groupers would cheat at running/triathlon. I see a lot of super minor cheating in triathlon (cutting cones (yards off the course), drafting when no one is looking, and other super minor and silly infractions). Honestly, I can't say that I've ever actually seen it done intentionally in a running race though.
Everyone I've ever trained with or competed against runs because they enjoy the sport and competition, and/or want to stay fit. Part of the fun is the challenge of planning a training schedule and pushing your body to its physical limits. It never occurred to me that people were hiring "bib mules" and cutting courses to qualify for Boston or post silly nonsense on social media. Even in failure, I still take pride in the work that was put in. I don't see what one would get from cheating to a achieve a time or qualifying standard.
Prior to the advent of MI, I would've taken cheaters' claims at face value.