Oh My Fraud

The Belgian Waffle


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A scrappy Flemish speech recognition company tries to put its hometown on the global tech map.

Sponsors
Routable - http://ohmyfraud.promo/routable
Bluebook - http://ohmyfraud.promo/bluebook


  • (00:00) - A Pie to the Face
  • (01:00) - Welcome to Oh My Fraud
  • (06:00) - Welcome to Flanders, Belgium
  • (07:30) - Meet the Founders: Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie
  • (09:30) - The Dream of Voice Recognition
  • (15:12) - Going Public in a Crowded Market
  • (17:42) - Creating the Flanders Language Valley
  • (21:42) - Gaston Bastiaens and His Wine Cellar Wager
  • (26:23) - Microsoft's $45 Million Investment
  • (29:23) - The Philosophy of Pie Throwing
  • (30:53) - Explosive Growth and Suspicious Numbers
  • (32:53) - Dragon Systems and Dictaphone Acquisitions
  • (35:23) - The Korean Revenue Mystery
  • (38:23) - Wall Street Journal Starts Digging
  • (42:18) - "I Lied About Everything"
  • (43:48) - The Resignation and Bankruptcy
  • (47:48) - The SEC Reveals the Fraud
  • (49:48) - Criminal Convictions and Symbolic Justice
  • (50:48) - Lessons Learned: Fake It Till You Make It
  • (52:18) - What Happened to the Technology
  • (53:48) - Closing Thoughts

  • HOW TO EARN FREE CPE

    In less than 10 minutes, you can earn NASBA-approved accounting CPE after listening to this episode. Download our mobile app, sign up, and look for the Oh My Fraud channel. Register for the course, complete a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.

    https://www.earmark.app/

    Download the app:

    Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728
    Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

    CONNECT WITH CALEB
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/

    Email us at [email protected]


    Sources:

    • How Hype Hurt Lernout & Hauspie [Bloomberg via Wayback Machine]
    • How High-Tech Dream Shattered In Scandal at Lernout & Hauspie [WSJ]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products: Financing From Start-up through IPO [INSEAD, Herwig Langohr,  Benoit Leleux,  Danny Lein, July 2000, accessed on Sept. 16, 2025]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products: The Question [INSEAD, Arnoud De Meyer,  Bart Pycke, January 1998, accessed on Sept. 16, 2025]
    • Quarterdeck Office Systems [Wikipedia]
    • Patent Is Won By Quarterdeck [NYT]
    • Internet Hype Gives New Life to Quarterdeck Stock [LAT]
    • Gaston Bastiaens [Apple.Fandom]
    • Today in Apple history: Apple exec bets his wine cellar on Newton [CultofMac]
    • Will Microsoft's Stake in Lernout & Hauspie Drive Growth in Speech? [Speech Technology Magazine]
    • In Brussels, Gates Takes a Pie in the Face [Reuters via Wayback Machine]
    • Bill Gates Being Hit in the Face With a Pie (1998) [YouTube]
    • Noël Godin [Wikipedia]
    • He Plasters Paris’ Elite With Cream Pies [LAT]
    • Bernard-Henri Levy Pied again in Belgium [YouTube]
    • FM Interviews: Noël Godin [First Monday]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Shares Drop Amid Puzzling Revenue Results [WSJ]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Surges In Korea, Raising Questions [WSJ]
    • Lernout's Bastiaens Will Step Down From CEO Post at Software Concern [WSJ]
    • Lernout to Refile Financial Reports; Co-Founders Resign as Chairmen [WSJ]
    • Lernout Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Says Cash at South Korean Unit Is Missing [WSJ]
    • The Talk of Flanders Has Most Speechless [AP]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V., Litigation Release No. 17782, Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1648, October 10, 2002 [Securities and Exchange Commission]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products, N.V., Litigation Release No. 18014, March 4, 2003 [Securities and Exchange Commission]
    • Lernout & Hauspie Founders Guilty in Fraud [WSJ]
    • Goldman Sachs and the $580 Million Black Hole [NYT]
    ...more
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    Oh My FraudBy Caleb Newquist

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