1
I noticed that Upwork has already suspended the client's account.
2
Although on the day our contract ended (2026-03-02), the client managed to close contracts with and write negative reviews for 2 other freelancers (arazakova and syedabbas15), I am sure that the suspension is a consequence of my contract, because it logically follows from the client's overall behavior during our contract.
3
I am sure that Upwork suspended the client's account solely for financial reasons specified in §§6.4-6.6 of the User Agreement.
4
However, while drafting this feedback, I unexpectedly discovered 2 other serious violations by the client: using a fake identity (§5 below) and paying other freelancers found on Upwork outside the platform (§11 below).
5
The client registered an account under the name «Steven Nadal».
This name implies that the client is a respectable European who values his reputation and will behave honorably and honestly.
However, I unexpectedly discovered that the client's real name is «Sarwankoemar Badal» (yes, Indian).
This violates §1.3 («Account Profile») of the User Agreement and immediately explains his other violations and general behavior: why would he care about his reputation if his identity is fake?
6
Upon deeper analysis, I was surprised to discover that Sarwankoemar uses a fake identity not only on Upwork, but also in his core businesses (onlinecamerashop.nl, stetrin.com), on social media platforms, and across other channels, where he presents himself to his partners and clients under another fake European name: «Simon van Rooij».
7
Such similarity is quite typical: rule-breakers repeatedly follow the same patterns across various situations.
8
Another pattern I noticed: over the last 20 years, Sarwankoemar has bankrupted his companies approximately once every 4 years (leaving behind numerous debts and contractual obligations) and created new ones (free from previous obligations).
This highlights the chasm in mentality between real Europeans and fake ones like Sarwankoemar: while real European entrepreneurs are proud of their companies' histories, cherish continuity, and value both personal and corporate reputations, Sarwankoemar values none of these.
9
Based on §8, I am absolutely sure that Sarwankoemar will act exactly the same way on Upwork.
Although in the review for arazakova (mentioned in §2) he wrote «I dont want upwork never again crooks», he will undoubtedly return to Upwork and behave as before.
10
I can confidently predict Sarwankoemar's future behavior:
10.1
First, he will try to reinstate his current account.
10.2
Since, according to §3, the account is currently suspended solely for financial reasons, he may well succeed in reinstating it.
10.3
If you see a new job post from the client's account in the feed, then report it to Upwork, referencing §5 and §11 of my feedback.
This should be sufficient for Upwork to suspend Sarwankoemar's account again.
10.4
After the 2nd suspension, he will certainly attempt to register a new account.
This violates §1.4 of the User Agreement.
In this case, you can identify Sarwankoemar using the information in §6 above and report his new account to Upwork.
11
Upon reading other freelancers' reviews about Sarwankoemar, I was surprised to discover that, besides using a fake identity, he had violated §7.1 of the User Agreement («Making payments through Upwork»).
Specifically, Sarwankoemar found his former Magento programmer, Bruno Gaiteiro (shopwhizzy), on Upwork in January 2025.
They collaborated on Upwork for 2 weeks and then decided to circumvent Upwork and work directly.
When Sarwankoemar predictably (this happens to him with all freelancers) became dissatisfied with Bruno's work and hired me as a new developer, he provided me with access to his account on Bruno's website shopwhizzy.com, where I saw their payments outside of Upwork, while according to §7.1 of the User Agreement all their financial transactions until January 2027 were required to be processed exclusively through Upwork.
12
When 2 counterparties (Sarwankoemar and Bruno) unite to deceive a third one (Upwork), it never ends well.
In this case, Bruno, in turn, took advantage of Sarwankoemar's trust and resold Hetzner hosting to him at 5 to 6 times its original price, and most likely even up to 10 times.
However, since Sarwankoemar was unaware of this until I pointed it out, he must have been dissatisfied with Bruno for other reasons.
13
My report on the contract with Sarwankoemar.
14
If any of Sarwankoemar's clients or business partners wish to supplement my information or obtain further details from me, they can do so here.