I feel guilty that his posts didn't raise a red flag earlier. The thought was there, but did I dismiss them because the copied pieces were from poor manips? I'd be lying if I said no.

Though you could make the argument that because he took time to make a copy of a fanart, isn't his work a worth while creation? This is where I like the more definite line of 'this is wrong' in fandom vs. the art world. (Chances are it would be argued in the art world, but there's a probability if philosophical arguments were used by the artist they would probably be able to get away with it)