Money Laundering

Text of my email dated April 21, 2002 to Dr. Dave Donoho, Dr. Elwyn Berlekamp, Dr. Niels Waller and Alan Stein is presented. It is followed by the responses I got from them.

Email to David Donoho, Berlekamp, Alan Stein, Niels Waller

Subject: Xamplify.com (at Berkeley, CA) Advisors' list

Dear Distinguished Gentlemen,

I worked for Xamplify (CEO: Jeffrey Klein) in Berkeley from June, 2001 to March, 2002 in their data modeling group and recently filed a racial/national origin discrimination complaint against them to the goverment agencies.

Part of the reason I accepted the job with them was Xamplify's listing of some of you distinguished gentlemen as its advisors.

For the eigth months I worked there, I was handling the lion's share of the data modeling work there, but I don't recall interacting with or seeing any of you gentlemen during that period, except once when Prof. Donoho visited the company and interacted with me for a 5-second period when he asked me the direction to the restroom.

I still see your names prominently listed as advisors on Xamplify's site (www.xamplify.com). I believe that unless you are actively and significantly advising the company on regular basis, the presence of your names just misleads the potential/current/past employees, investors and customers, just like it misled me.

I have high regards for your brilliance and professional achievements, but after 14 days, if things don't change, as a moral obligation to the community and for various other reasons, I will be forced to report this to the local BBB, universities, related professional organizations etc. so that they can further investigate such seemingly unprofessional behavior.

Thanks for your time and consideration,

Sincerely,

KS

Berlekamp, Waller, Donoho, Stein Respond

Got prompt emails from Professors Dave Donoho and Niels Waller, automated response from Professor Elwyn Berlekamp and perhaps a FedEx from Alan Stein that I could not pickup. There was a letter from Xamplify's lawyer too - I will be putting that up shortly.

Dave Donoho's Email

Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 07:57:12 -0700

Re: Xamplify.com (at Berkeley, CA) Advisors' list

Dear KS,

The specific thing you complain about is that Xamplify posts my name as an adviser.

It is certainly the truth that I have acted as an adviser to Xamplify over the years. I have interacted with Xamplify strictly on an as-needed basis, as determined by Xamplify only, and I have responded to all their requests for my advice and analysis. I have no control over the timing or extent of their requests for my advice.

If while at Xamplify you had ever felt that you needed my advice, you could simply have contacted me as you have just done. I would have told you to ask Xamplify management to ask me to come in, and with their approval I would have come in to talk with you.

Sincerely,

David Donoho

Niels Waller's Email

Subject: Please remove Waller

Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 16:16:04 -0500

Hi Jeffrey,

I do not know what is going on with your former employee, Mr. Sinha, and frankly it is none of my business. However, since I have not consulted for Xamplify in quite some time I think it is very appropriate that you remove my name from the web site and any Xamplify promotional materials. So please do so. I certainly have no hard feeling towards the company and wish you the best of luck on your many adventures. I also hope that our paths cross someday (perhaps over some fine California cuisine).

Best to you and Judy,

Niels

Their names were removed. For fuller stories please visit their pages devoted to them on this site. Company's lawyer's response will be coming up soon. Meanwhile enjoy portion from my letter to Xamplify asking for fair wages. (By the way, I have BSEE from a Indian Institute of Technology, MSCS, MBA degrees, all CFA, CFP, ASA exams, excellent test scores, relevant work experience and much more. My polite request was turned down.

Unfair Wages?

Me asking for low-end of fair wages from barely Living Wages. Claim rejected.

March 20, 2002

Jeffrey Klein, CEO
Xamplify
2115 Milvia St., 3rd Floor
Berkeley, CA 94704

Dear Jeffrey,

This letter is to inform you of a few instances of unprofessionalism I encountered at Xamplify and to request you to correct them to the best of your abilities.

1. During my hiring process, I was asked by Sumer Johal about the salary I was expecting. I told him about my previous salary (about $2000/week), informed him about much higher cost of living in California compared to that in Kansas (my previous job location) and added that I was expecting a fair salary. Sumer replied with deep sincerity in his voice that if hired, I would "of course" be paid fair salary.

After I was hired, arrived early every day, was told to work late almost every day, was given work by Sumer to finish during the weekend, and then, I was paid $1000/week. This amount was about half of what fresh computer science graduates (B.S.) from a local university made on average. or to put it in better perspective, my wages computed on an hourly basis, were about same as what undergraduate student interns made at city offices!

I believe that most reasonable and conservative estimate of fair wages for my work would have been about $3000/week (which comes to a about $60/hour). keeping that in mind, I believe that the company Xamplify underpaid me for my work of about 36 weeks by an amount of $62,800 (3000*36 - 13*1000 - 23*1400) compared to what was promised to me.

2. After being made a regular employee for a very short period, I was quickly made into a contract worker on grounds that my being away from job, 2-3 times a week for 2 hours during lunch time to attend job-related statistics course would be unfair to others. However, many in the company kept very lax hours, especially Tom Emerson in my group, and all of them remained employed as regular employees. This decision to reclassify me as contract worker precluded me from gettting any severance pay and collecting on unemployment benefits, especially hurtful during these tough economic times. My loss has been $23,160 (3000*2 + 330*12).

...snipped...