The big difference with Lloyd was that he was the first one that started demanding money for what he was doing
Did he ever.
One of his first posts here he came up with the idea for the survey. People were supportive of him and wished him well. So he pays €400 to SurveyMonkey and comes back here with his hand out, thinking encouragement meant the same people should reimburse him. A mod shut him down and it made a lasting impression. So much so that when he wrote his book 5-6 years later he recounted nearly every detail of that exchange, making the point that exJWs seem to oppose him more than the WT.
His acquaintance with Patrick Haeck was described in the book and it revealed a bit about how he goes about getting free shit. Haeck and his extended family planned a trip to the Croatian coast and he invited Lloyd and wife to meet up. He then relates how they were nearly broke but showed up anyway. Not only did Haeck insist they stay in one of their rooms, he booted out his son and girlfriend from theirs and had them sleep on the sofa so Lloyd and Dijana could have their own room to themselves.
What Haeck did was kind and generous. But what Lloyd did was intentionally impose himself and his wife on people he only knew online. If you’re broke, you kindly decline the invitation and instead invite them to your home afterward. Haeck made his way to their home anyway and Lloyd stood by as he built his daughter’s room and left him expensive tools to keep.
He relayed all this as some sort of tribute to Haeck, but it was clear he was all too willing to get a free holiday and his apartment finished at someone else’s expense.
He later dressed as some sort of monk in sandals and allowed Haeck to pay for his now family of three’s trip to Belgium so he could officiate his son’s wedding (in English of course).
The precedent was set. If you wanted Lloyd and family at an event, you pick up the tab.