Samueli to plead guilty

Under his agreement with the feds, the co-founder of OC chipmaker Broadcom will enter a single felony count to making false statements about his role in the backdating of stock options. If the judge goes along, he'll be placed on five years’ probation and pay $12.2 million in penalties. The plea deal does not require Samueli to testify on behalf of the government. "It's not our custom to put perjurers on the stand," Assistant U.S. Atty. Robb C. Adkins told the LAT. Broadcom's other co-founder, Henry Nicholas, was indicted on charges of misdating stock options - as well as distributing drugs to associates and spiking the drinks of certain Broadcom customers. From the Register story:

The one count of lying relates to a deposition Samueli gave on May 25, 2007 when he was asked by SEC staff if he was any way involved in the stock option grants to Broadcom executives. He said he was aware of the grants, but not involved in the process. Court papers said Samueli knew that wasn't true because he had been involved in the granting of options around Jan. 3, 2002 and again around Jan. 22, 2002, when it was determined the company should "go with the 10/19 price" for options to be granted to company executives.