Peregrine exec gets probation

Former Peregrine Systems Inc. President Gary L. Lenz was sentenced to three years of probation for lying about what he knew of the fraud that destroyed the software company once valued at $4.72 billion.

Lenz, 61, pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to one count of making a false statement and faced up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He was set to be retried in January after a jury failed to reach a decision on charges against him last year.

Prosecutors charged 18 people in a multimillion-dollar accounting scam to falsely inflate profit and boost Peregrine’s stock price that sent the San Diego-based company into bankruptcy in 2002. Twelve pleaded guilty, including former Chief Executive Stephen P. Gardner and ex-Chief Financial Officer Matthew C. Gless.