Judge Susan Illston of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California sentenced Prabhat Goyal, McAfee’s former CFO, to a year and a day in prison for his role in a revenue recognition scheme at the company. Goyal was convicted last year on 15 securities-related counts, according to The Recorder.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 46-month prison term Thursday, while Goyal’s attorney, Stephen Jonas of Wilmer Cutler, argued for a year of home confinement. Instead Illston went with the probation office’s recommendation of a year and a day in prison. Goyal was released pending appeal
The Recorder article states that the case will present issues of first impression to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, “including whether the government can try someone for violating accounting rules without providing the jury with expert testimony establishing a violation of generally accepted accounting procedures.”