Six jobs, one man — Soham Parekh and the remote work scam that shook tech

In what many are calling the most audacious employment scam in recent tech history, Indian engineer Soham Parekh has been accused of working for multiple startups simultaneously, allegedly deceiving YC-backed companies and AI firms across the globe. The explosive accusations—first made public by Suhail Doshi, co-founder of Mixpanel and founder of Playground AI—have triggered furious debates across social media and developer communities.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Doshi issued a stark public warning:

“PSA: there’s a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3–4 startups at the same time. He’s been preying on YC companies and more. Beware.”

Doshi revealed that Parekh had briefly worked at Playground AI in 2023 before being fired within a week for duplicity. He accused Parekh of “getting nothing done,” spinning “constant lies,” and released his resume—listing Dynamo AI, Synthesia, Union AI, Alan AI, Fleet AI, and Antimetal as previous employers—suggesting a systemic pattern of deception.

“I tried to talk sense into this guy... give him a chance to turn a new leaf. But it clearly didn’t work,” Doshi added.

Other founders swiftly corroborated Doshi’s claims. Flo Crivello, CEO of Lindy, tweeted,

“Holy sh*t. We hired this guy a week ago. Fired this morning. He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training. Careful out there.”

Crivello shared interview notes where Parekh claimed he left Antimetal due to time zone conflicts and disillusionment with its direction.

Matthew Parkhurst, CEO of Antimetal, confirmed Parekh’s employment and subsequent dismissal, remarking,

“Funnily enough, Soham was our first engineering hire in 2022... Hiring Soham is a new rite of passage tbh. Any great company should go through it.”

Leaders from Fleet AI, Mosaic, and Warp also confirmed his involvement. Michelle Lim, Head of Product at Warp, said Parekh was let go mid-trial when the scandal surfaced.

Privately, Parekh messaged Doshi expressing remorse, asking,

“Have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation? I am also happy to come clean.”

But the story doesn’t end there.

In a widely circulated LinkedIn post, Deedy Das, a tech investor, declared Parekh “the tip of the iceberg,” exposing a growing trend in remote work fraud. According to Das, many tech workers exploit the remote model—using mouse jigglers to simulate activity, blocking calendars as ‘focus time’, and even outsourcing deliverables.

Das cited a viral Reddit thread where an anonymous engineer claimed to be earning $800,000 per year juggling five jobs:

“No job should take too much effort... Lie, cheat, and steal. Use AI,” the user boasted, describing interviews as a “game.”

The subreddit hosting these discussions reportedly has over 500,000 members, underscoring the scale of the issue.

Meanwhile, Arkadiy Telegin, founder of Leaping AI, joined the list of CEOs speaking out. He shared screenshots of messages from Parekh, accusing the engineer of emotionally manipulating him by invoking India-Pakistan tensions during Operation Sindoor.

“Soham used to guilt-trip me for being slow on PRs when the India-Pakistan thing was going on—all while he was in Mumbai. The next person should hire him for Chief Intelligence Officer,” Telegin posted on X (@akyshnik).

The backlash has also taken over forums like Hacker News, where some users claimed to have worked with Parekh. One wrote:

“He’ll blow the interviews out of the water. Easily top 1% of candidates. But once hired, it’s excuses upon excuses.”

Employers reported recurring issues—missed meetings, delayed pull requests, and excuses ranging from family emergencies to Wi-Fi outages. A former manager observed:

“When he did do something, it was brilliant. But output only came when questions were asked.”

Some even speculated that a shadow team or external developers might be helping Parekh manage deliverables sporadically.

While much of the tech world has condemned Parekh, some questioned the systemic flaws that enabled such behaviour.

“Lots of YC companies copy each other’s hiring process. Basically—they all have the same blind spots,” one commenter argued.

In the aftermath, memes flooded social media—ranging from “Corporate speedrun unlocked” to “The Wolf of YC Street.” Google India trended with searches for “Soham Parekh LinkedIn” and “Soham Parekh Georgia Tech.”

Parekh, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mumbai and a master’s from the Georgia Institute of Technology, has yet to make a public statement. Beyond his private message to Doshi, the man at the heart of the AI hiring scandal remains silent.