In Episode 14 of Hire Smart Scale Fast, Hunter and Eric dive into the viral story of Soham Parekh—an engineer who secretly worked for five tech companies while outsourcing his tasks to other developers. 

They discuss how remote work, VPNs, and weak hiring processes are opening the door to hidden fraud, and what business leaders can do to prevent it. From red flags in interviews to the power of real references, this episode is a must-listen for any founder building distributed teams. 

Plus: a real-life case from Eric's law firm where the same scam happened—complete with stolen profile pictures. 

Time Stamps: 

00:00 – Intro & banter 
01:01 – The Soham Parekh case: working 5 jobs remotely 
01:50 – Outsourcing his work to other engineers 
02:30 – Eric's personal story: dual-employed team members 
03:40 – VPNs, fake setups & tech loopholes 
04:38 – The North Korea content farm case 
05:44 – Why interviews alone aren't enough 
06:12 – The importance of checking real references 
07:28 – How career relationships reveal character 
08:11 – Jobs vs careers: building long-term trust 
08:30 – Teaser for next episode 
08:52 – Outro 

About the show: 

Hire Smart helps business leaders build teams that scale smart and stay strong. Hosted by Eric Farber and Hunter Miranda, the show offers actionable insights into hiring, company culture, and leadership in the age of rapid growth and AI-driven transformation. 

Subscribe and learn how to hire better, lead stronger, and grow smarter. 

More episodes: hiresmartpodcast.com  

Follow Eric Farber on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ericfarber123 

Follow Hunter Miranda on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/huntermiranda