Let me start with a little history lesson and a company called Lernout & Houspie. Founded in 1987 by two Belgians, L&H went public in 1995 on NASDAQ and operated from U.S. headquarters in Burlington, MA. Specializing in voice recognition software, L&H rode the tech boom to a peak market valuation of $10 billion.L&H, despite its rise, was dogged by rumors of financial fraud. By early 1999, The Wall Street Journal reported that its earnings had been inflated. A subsequent WSJ investigation led to revelations in August of 2000 that much of the company's value had been achieved by booking imaginary sales through a wide range of accounting gimmicks.
In April 2001, the founders -- Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie, as well as former CEO Gaston Bastiaens -- were arrested in what was then one of the largest accounting scandals in history.



















