In 2011, Hewlett-Packard (HP) [HPQ NYSE] acquired Autonomy, the UK-based software company for over $10 billion dollars. After a collective gasp, the tech industry debated how a company like Autonomy could reach that level of valuation, and why HP, who has struggled for years finding its place in the modern software/hardware space, would empty the coffers to make the acquisition. After all, Oracle called Autonomy's former CEO, Mike Lynch, on his bluff, stating the market value of $6 billion at the time was overpriced, and this was before HP plopped down the whopping $10+. After a year of head shaking, we now know how they pulled it off – like so many other big-company-scandals, Autonomy cooked the books.