Minecode

Minecode, LLC

Type	Privately-held company
Industry	global information services
Genre	Information and technology services
Founded	August 2001<!-this parameter modifies "Founded" -->
Founder(s)	PK Samal, Anthony Springer, Sambit Behera
Headquarters	Bellevue, Washington, United States
Area served	Pacific Northwest
Key people	PK Samal, CEO Jon Day, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Products	Marketing Media Platform
Services	technology consulting, application development, testing, enterprise application integration, business intelligence, Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0
Employees	150
Website	http://www.minecode.com ; http://www.minebrain.com

Minecode, LLC was a privately-held IT consulting company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States.^[1] It had development centers both in India and the U.S with focus on Microsoft, Java, and Web 2.0 technologies.

History

Minecode was established in 2001 as Syntegral, LLC. In 2003, Syntegral, LLC changed its name to Minecode. In 2005, Minecode established an offshore subsidiary in Gurgaon, India. Minecode currently is DBA Minebrain, headquartered in India. Samal moved remaining assets offshore to avoid attachment in bankruptcy and legal proceedings.

In early 2007, Minecode spun off and sold part of its consulting division based in Redmond, Washington, as part of a restructuring move. Also in 2007, Minecode purchased Seattle-based X6 Technologies, a company specializing in customized marketing and VDP technology solutions and shortly thereafter, in early 2008, purchased Saltmine, an interactive design firm with offices in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.^[2]

In February 2010, Minecode and Saltmine filed for bankruptcy ^[3] leaving multiple employees with unpaid salaries and expenses.^[4]. The employees have filed suit following the backrupcy filing.^[4]

Since then, Samal floated another company, Minebrain which claimed credit for work done by Minecode. This website seems to have become defunct. In July 2010, another company called Divensi was founded which seems to have connections with PK Samal.^[5]. Divensi is claiming Microsoft Gold certification, even though they are not listed in Microsoft Partner directory.

Scandals

Minecode employees, CEO Pradyumna Samal (PK Samal) and project manager Sandeep Verma, plead guilty to several counts of computer intrusion in 2009. The charges arose after the employees at the Bellevue Web development shop intentionally disabled the Web site of Vinado, an online wine shop that had allegedly failed to pay its bills.

Verma was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and sentenced to 1 year of probation. Minecode itself was also sentenced to 3 years' probation, a fine of $144,000 and a restitution of $120,000.

Samal was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring and 3 years' probation. He was also instructed to complete 288 hours of community service and undergo moral reconation therapy.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ Paul Owen (2009-02-03). "Minecode Aligns Leadership With Niche-Focused Business Strategy". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS209710+03-Feb-2009+PRN20090203. Retrieved 2009-02-03. 
2. ^ John Swartz (2009). "Minecode LLC". BusinessWeek. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30742712. Retrieved 2009-03-19. 
3. ^ "Minecode and Saltmine close, CEO files for bankruptcy". Techflash.com. 2010-02-15. http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/02/minecode_ceo_files_for_bankruptcy.html. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Legal troubles mount for ex-Minecode CEO Samal". Techflash.com. 2010-03-19. http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/03/legal_troubles_mount_for_ex-minecode_ceo_samal.html. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
5. ^ "Divensi Inc". LinkedIn. http://www.linkedin.com/company/divensi-inc?trk=ppro_cprof. Retrieved 2011-03-05. 
6. ^ Minecode CEO Samal gets home detention, 3 years of probation
7. ^ FBI Press Release