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RECORD 3: INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW MEMORANDUM — WITNESS B
CONFIDENTIAL / ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED WORK PRODUCT
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Date of Interview: November 6, 2026
Interviewee: David Chen, Senior Sourcing Lead (Global Infrastructure)
Interviewer: Sarah Sterling, Senior Employment Counsel & Internal Investigator
Location: Windows PC Local Audio/Transcript Archive — Matter Room 4

Summary of Statement:
1. David Chen is the lead sourcing specialist assigned to the storage infrastructure refresh.
He reports directly to Elena Rostova.
2. Chen stated that as of October 10, 2026, StorCore was the lowest compliant bidder at $4,110,000,
compared to NexaByte's bid of $4,850,000. StorCore also met all delivery milestones.
3. Chen stated that on the morning of October 11, 2026, at approximately 09:30 AM, Marcus Vance
called him directly into his private office: "Marcus told me that the RFP was dead. He said
Executive Committee had authorized an emergency sole-source exemption for NexaByte due to
colocation capacity constraints. I told him the Sourcing Committee hadn't voted yet and StorCore
was $740,000 cheaper. He told me: 'This comes from the top; cut the PO today.'"
4. Chen stated that he felt coerced and immediately reached out to Elena Rostova on Slack: "Elena told
me to stand down and let Marcus handle the documentation. The 'October 14 committee meeting'
never actually took place; Elena simply circulated a pre-signed approval memo via DocuSign
after the purchase order had already been issued to NexaByte on October 12."
5. Chen provided copies of his handwritten notes from the October 11 meeting and confirmed that
Marcus Vance had posted pictures on personal social media from the Yacht Club de Monaco over
the weekend of October 3–5, 2026.