Mike Lynch, a British software program mogul who was as soon as one in all his nation’s most celebrated chief executives, was acquitted of fraud on Thursday in San Francisco federal courtroom, clearing him of fees that he had led one of many largest frauds within the expertise business.
A jury discovered him not responsible of falsely inflating income at Autonomy, the corporate he based and led, when he offered 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 ultimately dismissed.
Thursday’s verdict, after a trial that started in mid-March, is a milestone in Mr. Lynch’s decade-long odyssey to clear his title.
HP acquired Autonomy, paying a 60 % premium over its inventory worth, in a bid to rework itself right into a high-growth software program supplier. However 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 corporate subsequently accused Mr. Lynch and his lieutenants of offering deceptive details about the corporate’s funds.
On the time, traders known as the Autonomy acquisition one of many worst offers in historical past and a key level within the decline of HP as a frontrunner of the tech business.
It additionally tarnished the popularity 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 turned one in all Britain’s largest expertise 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 the chief govt, Meg Whitman, 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 chief persistently denied.
The chances of an acquittal solely diminished through the years. Autonomy’s chief monetary officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted of comparable fees and served jail time. And in 2022, a London choose overseeing a civil trial in opposition to Mr. Lynch — a case described as “amongst the longest and most complicated in English authorized historical past” — discovered him accountable for defrauding HP. (HP has sought some $4 billion in damages; Mr. Lynch has argued he owes nothing.)
Final yr, Mr. Lynch misplaced a struggle to keep away from extradition to america. He was taken to San Francisco and confined to a townhouse beneath 24-hour surveillance and court-mandated personal safety, on his dime.
On the California trial, prosecutors argued that Mr. Lynch was the “driving power” behind an advanced fraud through which {hardware} gross sales had been improperly labeled as software program ones to bolster income, and contracts had been backdated. Stephen Chamberlain, a former Autonomy vp of finance, was additionally on trial on related fees.
Mr. Lynch testified that he had not been concerned in Autonomy’s day-to-day monetary operations and had delegated many duties.
Jurors took about two days to achieve their verdict, discovering Mr. Lynch and Mr. Chamberlain not responsible on all fees.
“I’m elated with as we speak’s verdict and grateful to the jury for his or her consideration to the information during the last 10 weeks,” Mr. Lynch stated in a press release. “I’m wanting ahead to returning to the U.Okay. and getting again to what I really like most: my household and innovating in my area.”
