Mike Lynch is missing after his yacht sank. In a bizarre coincidence, his fraud codefendant died 2 days earlier.
Cambridgeshire Police
- Stephen Chamberlain, the codefendant in Mike Lynch's fraud trial, died after being struck by a car.
- The incident occurred two days before Lynch's yacht sunk off the coast of Sicily.
- Chamberlain and Lynch were both acquitted in a high-profile US fraud trial.
Stephen Chamberlain, the codefendant of tech tycoon Mike Lynch, died after being hit by a car on Saturday.
Chamberlain worked alongside Lynch as Autonomy's former finance vice president and was a codefendant in a US fraud trial also involving Lynch. Both were acquitted in the high-profile fraud case.
Chamberlain, 52, was fatally struck by a car while out jogging in Cambridgeshire on Saturday, his lawyer, Gary Lincenberg, told Business Insider.
The incident occurred just two days before Lynch's yacht sunk off the coast of Sicily.
Lynch's lawyer, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife are also among the missing, a colleague of Morvillo's told Business Insider.
Lincenberg, who represented Chamberlain, said Morvillo and his wife "are presumed to be passed away" after the yacht went down off Sicily.
Lincenberg said he found out the news about Morvillo shortly after he learned that Chamberlain was killed after being struck by a car while jogging on Saturday.
"In the course of 48 hours, I can't process what has happened, but both of our clients, as well as Chris and his wife, are gone," Lincenberg said.
In a statement about Chamberlain shared with the Independent, Lincenberg said: "He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity. We deeply miss him. Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family."
Chamberlain's family said in a statement released by Cambridgeshire Police on Tuesday: "Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend. He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible.
"He made a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be deeply missed but forever in the hearts of his loved ones."
Of the 12 guests and 10 crew who were on board the yacht, one person is dead, and six others — including Lynch — are missing, The Associated Press reported. Authorities have not confirmed whether the missing people, including Lynch, have died.
Lynch and his wife were joined on the yacht by a small group of financial and legal advisors when the violent storm hit. The group was reportedly celebrating Lynch's acquittal in the fraud case two months earlier, per Bloomberg.
The fraud case centered on accusations that Lynch had artificially inflated Autonomy's value to defraud Hewlett Packard, which bought the company in 2011 for $11 billion. Lynch has always denied any wrongdoing and was acquitted of all 15 charges by a jury in San Francisco in June.