Autonomy was one of those companies I only heard about through a billboard driving on 101 in the Bay Area (rather than through technical sites). When I looked at them it looked like a scam (ML in enterprise search, i actually don't know if it was any good), and I was surprised when HP bought them.
Autonomy took advantage of their UK base to avoid Sarbanes-Oxley and simulated growth by buying defunct US companies and rolling up their revenue. I don't see why this guy hasn't been extradited yet due to the fact that virtually all of the activity, especially the acquisition, took place in the US.