Many companies will throw existing employees and even founders under the bus if they think their is a few dollars to be won. To think they wouldn’t play games with ex employees is naive in the extreme.

Wow, check stubs used to be the basic social currency around renting and etc. Are you saying people can't get these anymore? Or maybe they know too much and don't care?

I assume GP is talking about getting paystubs from a former employer, not from a current one. I've never had any trouble getting paystubs from my current employer; they were always available through the HR website portal (ADP, Workday, etc.).