Mike Lynch goes on trial over HP takeover of Autonomy

Mike Lynch, previously dubbed by US prosecutors as Silicon Valley’s largest-ever fraud, will go on trial on Monday in San Francisco.

Lynch faces claims that he misled auditors and regulators after artificially inflating sales at his software firm, Autonomy, prior to its takeover by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co in 2011.

The US$11.1 billion takeover had aimed to boost Hewlett Packard's software wing, but rather saw Autonomy’s value written down by US$8.8 billion around a year later.

According to Hewlett Packard, there were “serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations” at Autonomy.

Lynch, who pleaded not guilty and previously argued Autonomy’s issues related to its new owners, has been charged with 17 counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy, having been indicted in 2019.

He was extradited from the UK to the US last year and faced house arrest until November.

As per the charges, Lynch artificially bumped up revenues by backdating sales and compensating customers for fake purchases of his firm’s software.