Is there cheating beyond teaming going on in this game?

In a match I just played an early game opponent 50% smaller than me just kept pulling nukes out of his ass. I thought he was a good target for expansion but he built a SAM, a nuke launcher, and had enough funds to constantly send nukes and his only econ was two ports. His one ship was guarding his coast and was stealing no trade ships. I just kept scratching my head, everytime I checked his funds he always seemed to be at 1.5m, nuke after nuke after nuke, and building multiple guard posts as well. In the end he just nuked all my buildings one by one and I lost.

I'm not sharing a replay because I don't want to slander someone or start drama without evidence. But am I being paranoid or is it possible to hack yourself a little pay boost in this game? Something that would fly under the radar but give you the edge?

I'm a mid-player and I get beaten fairly constantly, but I am going mad trying to figure out how they could have so much money so early on.