It’s been a bleak September for AI (artificial intelligence) super computer manufacturer Super Micro Computer (SMCI:NASDAQ), a popular stock with retail investors. First targeted by Nathan Anderson’s short selling firm Hindenburg Research at the end of August, it is now reportedly facing a Department of Justice probe.

A prosecutor in the US attorney’s office in San Francisco has asked for information about a former employee who has previously accused Super Micro of accounting violations, according to market intelligence.

Hindenburg said it identified ‘fresh evidence of accounting manipulation’, according to its report. The allegations include improper revenue recognition and rehiring executives involved in past accounting scandals.

‘Less than three months after paying a $17.5 million SEC settlement, Super Micro began re-hiring top executives that were directly involved in the accounting scandal, per litigation records and interviews with former employees’, the report stated.

Following the allegations, Super Micro said it would not file its annual report for the fiscal year with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on time, sending the shares tumbling, although it remains unclear if the delay was related to the Hindenburg allegations.

Whatever the truth of the matter, Super Micro shares have taken a hammering, down nearly 24% since Hindenburg revealed its claims. That’s makes it the worst performer of the entire S&P 500 index during that time, wiping close on $840 million off its market cap.

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