British tycoon Mike Lynch was celebrating his recent acquittal in “one of Silicon Valley’s biggest-ever fraud cases” with his family and legal team when their superyacht capsized in Sicily.
Lynch — who’s been dubbed the British Steve Jobs — had invited white-collar lawyer Christopher Morvillo and others from law firm Clifford Chance for a trip on the Bayesian after he was cleared in the federal case, according to a report by the Telegraph.
The three-month trial played out in San Francisco federal court and centered on allegations that Lynch schemed to inflate his software company Autonomy’s revenue when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. Within a year, the US tech company downvalued Autonomy’s worth by $8.8 billion.
A jury found the Irish-born Lynch not guilty on all 15 securities and wire fraud charges on June 6. Clifford Chance referred to the trial as “one of Silicon Valley’s biggest-ever fraud cases.”
“We are thrilled with the jury’s verdict, which reflects a resounding rejection of the government’s profound overreach in this case. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated conclusively that Mike Lynch is innocent,” Morvillo and his co-counsel Brian Heberlig said in a statement.
“This verdict closes the book on a relentless 13-year effort to pin HP’s well-documented ineptitude on Dr. Lynch. Thankfully, the truth has finally prevailed. We thank Dr. Lynch for his trust throughout this ordeal and hope that he can now return home to England to resume his life and continue innovating.”
The 160-foot luxury sailboat — which had 22 people on board — sank off the coast Porticello, Italy, after a storm hit at sunrise Monday. The vessel’s chef’s body has been recovered, 15 passengers survived and the search continues for the six remaining passengers who are considered missing — including Morvillo and Lynch.
Others among the missing are Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, Jonathan Bloomer, a chairman at Morgan Stanley International, and Bloomer’s wife, Judy.
Lynch took the stand in his defense at trial, blaming HP for botching the merger by failing to carry out proper due diligence. He also pointed the finger at his CFO Sushovan Hussain, claiming the finance officer took care of all the finances and accounting decisions.
The feds called more than 30 witnesses in their failed effort to convict Lynch. They included Leo Apotheker, the former HP CEO who was fired weeks after the Autonomy deal was announced.
Hussain was convicted at a 2018 trial related to the doomed HP deal and was released from prison in January after serving a five-year sentence.
HP won a lawsuit fought in London in 2022 against Lynch and Hussain, but their legal penalties have yet to be decided. The US tech giant is seeking $4 billion in damages.
