Broadcom founders accused of fraud

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud complaint against Broadcom co-founders Henry T. Nicholas and Henry Samueli, owner of the NHL Anaheim Ducks, in an alleged scheme to systematically backdate stock options.

The complaint comes on the heels of an SEC lawsuit filed against the Irvine-based chip maker on April 22 alleging that Nicholas, Samueli and other senior Broadcom executives ‘orchestrated and carried out’ a long-running scheme to backdate stock options. Broadcom agreed to pay $12 million to settle the lawsuit.

Kim Christensen and E. Scott Reckard have the full story here.

No comment yet from the accused, but keep checking back.

UPDATE: Nicholas declined to comment to the Times through his attorney. Samueli’s lawyer, Gordon A. Greenberg, criticized regulators for ‘trying their case in the media’ and said his client had relied on ‘management and other professionals’ to ensure that options were granted properly. ‘The SEC press release failed to mention that an independent team of lawyers and forensic accountants hired by Broadcom’s outside board members in 2006 thoroughly examined Broadcom’s options granting processes and filed a report with the SEC that fully exonerated Dr. Samueli,’ Greenberg said.

-- Chris Gaither