British entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been cleared of fraud charges by a jury in a court in San Francisco on Thursday, avoiding the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence. The once-celebrated cofounder of software company Autonomy was acquitted of all criminal charges, ending a 12-year legal saga accusing him of wire fraud and conspiracy.
In the course of a meandering, 11-week trial, the US Department of Justice accused Lynch of overseeing an elaborate, multiyear fraud that served to inflate the value of Autonomy before its purchase by Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Lynch backdated and fabricated sales, the DOJ alleged, and lied about the condition of his
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