A former Super Micro Computer strategy director is pressing ahead with allegations the hardware manufacturer retaliated and ultimately fired him for reporting what he believed to be accounting improprieties and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) violations.
Lawyers for Bob K. Luong filed a motion on Tuesday to lift a previous stay so an amended whistleblower complaint against Super Micro and its CEO, Charles Liang, can be filed and potentially proceed in federal court. Luong is alleging the company improperly recognized millions in revenue before actually delivering goods to customers and purposely shipped equipment with missing parts to make its financials appear in better shape than they were. Luong also alleged the CEO’s wife and Super Micro cofounder, Sara Liu Liang, along with her brother Edmond Liu, negotiated with the CEO of a business partner, Compuware, to delay payments and adjust terms of sale—while still allowing for early recognition of revenue. (The CEO of Compuware is Charles Liang’s brother, Bill Liang. Compuware is a distributor for Super Micro in Taiwan, China, and Australia, and Super Micro outsources power design and manufacturing to Compuware.)
