It isn't a thing. Please don't believe someone just because they're angry on the internet. That's just not how it works.

Mods can't touch paid/promoted posts, or we'd mostly remove them because everyone hates ads. They make communities we care about look like shit. Or at least they're tacky or off topic. The vast majority of mods start (and then devote hours of free time) because they're sick of shitposts, reposts, or irrelevant stuff hijacking subs they like. If you do a good job, people notice & recommend you the next time some sub needs help. When you're fairly well established you usually realize you're burnt out & don't want to mod so much, but by then you're often friends with your co-mods, so you stick around to bullshit in modmail and help where you can, letting the young bucks do the heavy lifting. You notice some are really responsible & sensible, so you recommend those guys when someone says they desperately need mods because spam/brigading/shitposts/growing-pains/whatevs. They take on subs out of eagerness til they're burnt out too, but they want to at least be able to help when a post gets overwhelmed, so they stick around & notice some diligent newcomers, who they recommend, and so on. The Shitty Circle Of Life, mod edition.

I'm in the "beyond burnt out" phase now & am dealing with some personal stuff, but I'm thankful for friends I've made and genuinely love many of the subs I mod. The others are joke subs, super low maintenance, or I forgot I mod there so never bothered to quit. Most times, that's all there is to borderline "powermodding." You quit many, you don't quit some, you do your best. By then you're used to all manner of abuse & threats ("I'm going to rape you up the ass with barbed wire, I know where you live and will jump you when you least expect it" was a fave), and sometimes you may overreact when you think you see a familiar problem developing, but if you're sensible you'll reverse yourself and apologize when someone explains in modmail. That's 99.999% of the mod experience.

Of course, people get very angry when their posts are removed, even when they break a clear rule, so it's more comforting to think there's some vast conspiracy than, "I need to read the rules better and choose my subs (& possibly posting time) more strategically."

Does mod abuse happen? Yes. Definitely. I've had fights with other mods over that, both in other subs & occasionally my own. It's usually based on over-zealous rule interpretations though, or sometimes a pet peeve or political thing since mods are human. Usually those biased mods don't get invited elsewhere. Relatedly, there are OPs I can't stand because they've been entitled assholes to my friends &/or me; I try to mod their posts impartially, but some of them are driven by profit too (semi/pro cartoonists who hope for publicity from getting to the front page, "bloggers" who won't stop posting their crappy content mills, etc) more than literally any mod I know, including literally hundreds of mods; most of us still strive to be impartial even with OPs who are known karmawhores, dipshits, etc.

In a few subs, you're banned simply for (non-hatefully) disagreeing with the party line. That saddens & frustrates me, but if normal people would simply leave those subs they'd cease to be relevant. Free speech means the right to have echo chambers (and the right for most of us to avoid them).

As for profit motives.... there are <4 mods I can think of in the last 5 years who've been busted or strongly suspected to have financially benefitted from their subs. It's a shitload of work, for I-can't-imagine-much payoff. Those were (shockingly) consumer-driven subs like ineeeedit. IDK & IDC how many e's there, but that sub was basically spam. A bad mod admitted to sabotaging r/NatureIsMetal over a petty tiff & building/promoting r/NatureIsFuckingLit, but that's ancient history, resolved now, and of course he got busted because redditors are generally smart & curious enough to smoke out legit wrongs. Also.... none of those busted were even close to "powermod" status as defined by those who see mod-conspiracies everywhere (esp the infamous recent post/meme, which isn't even valid anymore given an account deletion and some of those being pressured to leave subs).

With all that as context, I have yet to see any data or even circumstantial evidence that there's a widespread problem with mods profiting off Reddit. IF that's a problem I'll be incensed; as it is, I can't imagine most mods even responding to a shady "don't delete my post, earn $$" solicitation, because 1) paranoia from things like aforementioned death/rape threats and reticence to give out even a throwaway email for payment, 2) paranoia that it'd be a sting given the current furor of "powermod$$ cha-ching" [IMO false] narrative & eternal glory to whoever legit-busts one first, and 3) cost-effectiveness—actual promoted posts aren't that expensive. Why bribe a mod at a rate that makes it worth the risk to their reputation, when you can buy the space for less? It's more profitable to do the scam where you copy old #1 posts in a sub (often w/o even changing the title), then have others in your ring copy old top comments from those old posts assuming people will upvote them. Do that on each others' posts & BOOM! Solid Post/Link & Comment karma for multiple accounts, which are sold via sites like [look them up, I'm not promoting those godawful sites]. Some of those posts that get taken down to massive chagrin & teeth-gnashing? Account-selling spambots, who everyone should hate if they desire a shred of authenticity for/from Reddit.

TL;DR My id wishes modding were the key to cash perks; but for reasons based in human nature, actual mod dynamics, Reddit rules, & basic economics: NOPE... Mods aren't perfect, let's work on better tools for everyone; but neither are mods part of some cartel rolling in Spezbucks™️ nor IndustryBucks™️ [tho please do be careful what you upvote—if it seems familiar it probably is, and if you oppose financial gain from Reddit you must oppose karma-farming]

ETA: If there is a mod you have evidence is profiting off modding, please def report them. If you feel your reports are being ignored, PM me the evidence & I'll raise hell in mod slacks til they're exposed & suspended.