EGN NEWS DESK
Mike Lynch, a British software program mogul who was as soon as certainly one of his nation’s most celebrated chief executives, was acquitted of fraud on Thursday in San Francisco federal courtroom, clearing him of prices that he had led one of many greatest frauds within the know-how business.
A jury discovered him not responsible of falsely inflating income at Autonomy, the corporate he based and led, when he bought it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011.
Mr. Lynch, 58, who confronted many years in jail, had initially been charged with 16 counts of fraud and conspiracy, although one fraud cost was finally dismissed.
Thursday’s verdict, coming after a monthslong trial in California, is a milestone in Mr. Lynch’s decade-long odyssey to clear his identify.
HP acquired Autonomy, paying a 60 p.c premium over its inventory worth, in a bid to remodel itself right into a high-growth software program supplier. But questions quickly arose about Autonomy’s figures, and earlier than lengthy the California-based tech pioneer took an $8.8 billion accounting cost on the acquisition, citing “critical accounting improprieties.” HP’s inventory worth plummeted.
The firm subsequently accused Mr. Lynch and his lieutenants of offering deceptive details about the corporate’s funds.
At the time, buyers known as the Autonomy acquisition one of many worst offers in historical past, and a turning level within the decline of HP as a number one icon of the tech business.
It additionally tarnished the fame of Mr. Lynch, who rose from working-class origins outdoors London to the heights of British business. A maker of information analytics software program, Autonomy grew to become certainly one of Britain’s greatest know-how success tales. Mr. Lynch in 2011 was named a scientific adviser to David Cameron, the prime minister on the time, and a director of the BBC.
Mr. Lynch argued that HP executives together with Meg Whitman, the chief government who fired him, had been blaming him for their very own mismanagement of Autonomy.
In 2018, American federal prosecutors charged Mr. Lynch with fraud, accusations that the manager constantly denied.
The odds of an acquittal solely diminished through the years. Autonomy’s chief monetary officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted of comparable prices and served jail time. And in 2022, a London judge overseeing a civil trial in opposition to Mr. Lynch — a case described as “amongst the longest and most advanced in English authorized historical past” — discovered him answerable for defrauding HP. (HP has sought some $4 billion in damages; Mr. Lynch has argued he owes nothing.)
Last yr, Mr. Lynch misplaced a struggle to keep away from extradition to the United States. He was taken to San Francisco and confined to a townhouse beneath 24-hour surveillance and court-mandated non-public safety, on his dime.
At the California trial, which started in mid-March, prosecutors argued that Mr. Lynch was the “driving pressure” behind an advanced fraud wherein {hardware} gross sales had been improperly categorised as software program ones to bolster income, and contracts had been backdated. Stephen Chamberlain, a former Autonomy vice chairman of finance, was additionally on trial on related prices.
Mr. Lynch, who took the stand in his protection, testified that he was not concerned in Autonomy’s day-to-day monetary operations and that he delegated many duties.
Jurors took about two days to succeed in their verdict, discovering Mr. Lynch and Mr. Chamberlain not responsible on all prices.
“I’m elated with as we speak’s verdict and grateful to the jury for his or her consideration to the info during the last 10 weeks,” Mr. Lynch mentioned in an announcement. “I’m trying ahead to returning to the U.Okay. and getting again to what I really like most: my household and innovating in my discipline.”
