In a bizarre saga, which can be ripped directly from a technical satire, India -based software engineer Soham Parekh has shocked the silicon Valley after secretly working for dozens of American startups at the same time. Moonlight began as a whisper, which after the revelations exploded rapidly in a fully developed dispute that Parekh was playing a role in 34 different companies, resentment, mistrust and a swing of memes.

The story broke up when Mixpenal founder and former CEO Suhail Doshi posted on X (East Twitter), accusing Parekh of cheating several Y Combinator-supported startups. Doshi claimed that he had fired Parekh within a week of highlighting the truth. As the thread gained traction, more founders took a pinch, accepting that he had either hired or interviewed Perekh, only to find out that he was already employed elsewhere.

Dhruv Amin, co-founder of AI Startup Create, shared one founder Dhruv Amin with Parekh in an X thread that quickly went viral. Dhruv reported that Soham joined his team in San Francisco as engineer number five, behind the recommendation of a recruiter and an impressive pair-promotional interview. “Yes, we hired him and he was curious and crushed our in-tradition pair programming onsite. I believe he is actually a good engineer,” Dhruv wrote.

But the enthusiasm quickly turned into despair.

After accepting the job, Parekh said that he would go away in New York and start a week later. When rolled around on Monday, they recited Dhruv with enthusiasm, only to call in sick on their first day. Dhruv said, “He said he would stay on a ship from home. Gave an address to the laptop to ship.”

From there, things became strange only. Parekh recalled the meetings, delayed delivarables, and made excuses. All this was destroyed when Dhruv’s team found that he was actively working in another company, sink at the same time.

Dhruv said, “When we called Soham, he refused it to the end. Sink people were just friends,” Dhruv remembered. But the real kicker came when Sink published a ‘Employees of the Month’ video, in which there was no one other than Soham Parekh.

His contract was rapidly terminated. “He drowned,” Dhruv said, assuming that he was just a young engineer who made a bad call. But when the broad story broke, Dhruv’s embarrassment turned into amazing. “Then I was angry. Even then, he was not impressed how he pulled it out for so long and appreciated Udham for so long. Hope he had a good reason. It seems a stressful way to make money.”

Side of Soham Parekh’s story

As the Tech World demanded a response, Parekh finally spoke in an interview on the backchal podcast (TBPN), confirming that many people were suspicious. “It’s true,” he said, for deception peacefully. “I am not proud of what I have done. But, you know, financial situations, essential. No one really likes to work 140 hours a week, okay? But I had to do it out of need. I was in very strict financial conditions.”

He said that he completed all the work himself – no shortcut, no AI, no external help – and ensured that their production was met on expectations.

Parekh claimed that after postponing the graduate school and enrolling an online program from Georgia Tech, Udham began in 2022. But that expansion raised more questions when a Georgia Tech spokesperson confirmed that there was no record of his nomination, further doubt over the time and speculated how far it could be deception.

Despite the storm, Parekh has already landed on its feet. He has now joined a San Francisco-based AI startup named Darwin, and he has promised to overtake his multi-caste days. “I will not take any additional jobs,” he said.

While his story has raised moral questions about moonlight and transparency in remote hiring, this startup hiring also highlights deep weaknesses in culture, especially in the rapidly growing world of enterprise-supported technology, where the background check is often minimal and the scale pressure is high. Love him or hate him, Soham Parekh is now named in Silicon Valley Lore.