Tech tycoon Mike Lynch cleared of all fraud charges in Hewlett-Packard trial

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was found not guilty on Thursday on all 15 counts of fraud he faced over the $11.1bn purchase of his company Autonomy by Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

Lynch’s trial began in March in San Francisco after a lengthy battle over his extradition from England to the US. He was first charged in 2018, accused of inflating sales, misleading regulators and duping his eventual buyer.

HP wrote down the entire value of his company by billions of dollars soon after the deal closed, alleging it discovered major accounting improprieties. Lynch went on trial charged with 16 counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy, but the securities fraud charge was dropped.

Lynch himself testified as the final witness in the trial before jury deliberations. The redeemed entrepreneur has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, proclaiming that the company he founded and led was not fraudulent even as he admitted it was “not perfect”.

The former CEO claimed he had little knowledge of the company’s day-to-day business dealings, or its accounting practices, as his own background was more technical. He foisted blame for accounting irregularities – the source of HP’s claims of fraud after the deal had been completed – on other executives and the company’s employees. He said he often delegated tasks.

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