Kumar was chief operating officer of Computer Associates, now
renamed CA, before becoming chief executive in 2001. He pleaded
guilty earlier this year to securities fraud and to obstruction of
justice.
The accounting scandal centred on the false inflation of
quarterly results. Deals which were signed after a quarter ended
were backdated so that they increased a preceding quarter's
revenue. Kumar was found to be involved in that scheme.
An indictment from 2004 said that Kumar even flew to Paris in a
private jet in order to sign a backdated contract in a $19 million
deal.
Kumar was said to be instrumental in encouraging salespeople
into operating a '35 day month', allowing deals to be completed
after the close of a quarter. The practice led to the incorrect
reporting of $2.2 billion worth of revenue. Executives at the
company lied to an initial investigation and withheld evidence, the
Government's case said.
Kumar was a protégé of CA founder Charles Wang, who resigned
from the company as controversy surrounding the practice grew. Wang
left the company with a $1 billion bonus that angered many
shareholders.
Kumar has said that the 35 day month was in operation before he
became chief executive. He left the company in 2004, having
resigned as chief executive and acted as chief software architect
for six weeks.
Kumar faced up to 20 years in jail, but received 12. Judge Leo
Glasser said that Kumar, though not violent, "did violence to the
legitimate expectations of shareholders."
The prosecution had claimed that heavy punishment was merited
for a scheme that was "the most brazen in the modern era of
corporate crime."
CA is the world's fifth biggest software company and makes
software for large organisations. It employs 15,000.
