Autonomy founder Mike Lynch was acquitted of fraud Thursday by a jury in San Francisco, a serious win for the software program entrepreneur who has been dogged by authorized issues for the reason that disastrous sale of his firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion in 2011.
Representatives for Lynch and US prosecutors mentioned Lynch was acquitted on all 15 expenses — one depend of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud.
Former Autonomy finance govt Stephen Chamberlain, who confronted the identical expenses at trial alongside Lynch, was additionally acquitted on all counts, the Lynch consultant mentioned.
The trial, the place prosecutors mentioned Lynch and Chamberlain schemed to inflate Autonomy’s revenue, was the most recent chapter in a authorized saga stemming from the failed deal.
The Autonomy sale was one of many largest British tech offers on the time however shortly went bitter, with HP writing down Autonomy’s worth by $8.8 billion inside a 12 months.
“I’m elated with at the moment’s verdict,” Lynch, who was as soon as in contrast with Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Invoice Gates, mentioned in an announcement. “I’m wanting ahead to returning to the UK and getting again to what I like most: my household and innovating in my subject.”
Abraham Simmons, a spokesperson for the Workplace of the US Legal professional, mentioned: “We acknowledge and respect the decision.”
On the trial, which lasted three months, jurors heard from greater than 30 authorities witnesses together with Leo Apotheker, the previous HP (HPE) CEO who was fired weeks after the Autonomy deal was introduced.
Cambridge College-educated Lynch additionally took the stand in his personal protection on the trial, denying wrongdoing and telling jurors that HP botched the 2 firms’ integration.
Prosecutors mentioned Lynch and Chamberlain padded Autonomy’s funds in a number of methods, together with through back-dated agreements and pretend contracts.
Lynch’s authorized group argued at trial that HP was so keen to amass Autonomy forward of potential rivals that it rushed via due diligence earlier than the sale.
On the stand, the entrepreneur mentioned he had been centered on tech points, and entrusted cash issues and the accounting selections at difficulty to Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s then-chief monetary officer. Hussain was individually convicted in 2018 at a trial in the identical courtroom on expenses associated to the take care of HP. He was launched from US jail in January after serving a five-year sentence.
Lynch turned ground-breaking analysis at Cambridge College into the inspiration of Autonomy, which grew to become Britain’s largest software program firm and a member of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
He was lauded by lecturers and scientists and requested to advise the British authorities on expertise and innovation. The Autonomy acquisition was meant to gas HP’s software program enterprise. As a substitute, it spawned a sequence of bitter and costly authorized battles. HP largely received a civil lawsuit towards Lynch and Hussain in London in 2022, although damages haven’t but been determined. The corporate is looking for $4 billion.