Ex-Autonomy CFO Sushovan Hussain Indicted for Wire Fraud

Former Autonomy CFO Sushovan Hussain Hit With Wire Fraud Charges

In a stunning revelation, federal prosecutors have indicted Sushovan Hussain, the former Chief Financial Officer of Autonomy Corporation plc, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud. The accusations stem from a multi-year investigation into Autonomy’s financial practices during its acquisition by Hewlett-Packard Company for approximately $11 billion.

Hussain, 52, a British citizen and resident, served as the CFO of Autonomy, a company with dual headquarters in San Francisco and Cambridge. The indictment alleges that Hussain engaged in a scheme to defraud both buyers and sellers of securities by misrepresenting Autonomy’s true business performance, financial condition, and growth prospects.

Between 2009 and 2011, the indictment claims Hussain artificially inflated Autonomy’s revenues through various deceptive practices. These include backdating agreements to record revenue in prior periods, recording revenue on contracts with side letters that impacted revenue recognition, and making false statements to Autonomy’s auditor about transactions supporting revenue recognition.

The allegations further assert that Hussain provided these misleading financial statements to HP during the acquisition process, directly influencing HP’s decision to proceed with the $11 billion deal. Additionally, it is claimed that Hussain made false and misleading statements to HP regarding Autonomy’s products and concealed non-compliant hardware sales.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Leach and Adam A. Reeves are leading the prosecution with support from Phillip Villanueva and Bridget Kilkenny. If convicted, Hussain faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each wire fraud count and the conspiracy charge.

As per standard legal procedure, an indictment only alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.