Billionaire Henry Samueli admits he knowingly lied to federal officials probing a $2.2 billion accounting fraud scheme at his company, Broadcom Corp., and says that he is now prepared to accept the consequences.
“My first instinct was to fight this case. The last thing I wanted was to have a felony on my record,” Samueli wrote in a statement to the judge who is scheduled to sentence him on Sept. 8. “I also did not want to accept the consequences of admitting guilt, including being labeled a felon.”
The comments in a sentencing memorandum are Samueli’s first extended public statement since June, when he pleaded guilty to lying about his role in granting stock options at Broadcom. Until now, Samueli has let his lawyers do the talking.
Samueli pleaded guilty to one count of lying to Securities and Exchange Commission investigators about his role in assigning stock options to Broadcom’s top executives. The SEC was investigating Broadcom’s $2.2 billion financial restatement to reflect the true accounting cost of employee stock options granted from 1998 to 2003, the largest restatement among more than 150 companies embroiled in options scandals.
Some excerpts from Samueli’s statement:
“I have spent days and nights thinking about why I said what I did in front of the SEC on May 25, 2007. I did not plan out what I was going to say. When the SEC asked me about the options granting process for Section 16 executive officers, I responded that I was not ‘involved.’ Of course, that was not the truth since I was involved in the process. My statement before the SEC was completely out of character for me.
“However, after long discussions with my family and friends, I had to make the right decision. My statements before the SEC were wrong and I take full responsibility for my actions and I am prepared to accept all the resulting consequences.”
In his statement, Samueli gives a brief biography: From his modest upbringing as the son of Holocaust survivors, through his career as an educator at UCLA and as an entrepreneur who co-founded Broadcom, one of Orange County’s largest public companies. He talks about his philanthropy, his religious beliefs, his role as a father of three daughters.
“I have tried to teach my children the most important lessons about personal responsibility and respect for others that I learned from my parents,” he said.
Under his plea deal, Samueli agreed to pay a $250,000 fine, $12 million to the government and serve up to five years probation. The deal does not require him to cooperate with prosecutors or to testify in criminal cases against former Broadcom executives, Henry T. Nicholas and William Ruehle, who were also charged with securities fraud. Nicholas, who also faces drug distribution charges, and Ruehle have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to go on trial in April.
Samueli’s plea deal must still be approved by U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney.
The 158-page court filing contains character references from Samueli’s colleagues in business, academia, religious and charitable organizations. It also provides background on the origins of Broadcom and describes how, from the start, Samueli focused on technology while Nicholas ran management and finance — a distinction Samueli’s attorney, Gordon Greenberg, makes in arguing for a lenient sentence.
“At first, Dr. Henry Nicholas and Dr. Henry Samueli each invested $5,000 and set up the company in Dr. Nicholas’s condominium,” Greenberg wrote. “Although Dr. Nicholas and Dr. Samueli were co-chairmen of Broadcom, they had different responsibilities. Dr. Samueli was Chief Technology Officer and he focused on technological and engineering matters. Dr. Nicholas, ‘who had better business and negotiating skill,’ became president and CEO.”
Samueli is still the target of an SEC civil suit as well as lawsuits filed by Broadcom shareholders. He took a leave of absence as Broadcom’s chief technical officer. He has been suspended indefinitely as owner of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team and could have his name removed from the engineering schools at UC Irvine and UCLA, which he supported with millions of dollars in donations.
To see his complete statement, CLICK HERE.
To see his sentencing memorandum, CLICK HERE.
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So he is stupid! He confirmed it…
Samueli - when you stand before the judge and enter a plea it is YOUR plea, YOU decide.
YOU are being charged, get it?
uh, stupid people do not become “billionaires” but morally bankrupt people, can.
So now he’s branded a liar, will pay a fine, and be known as a “felon.”
OJ got off easier.
What about his “agonizing” decision to rip off investors. People lost their futures because of this crook. People like him should be stripped of everything, castrated and put in prison.
At least he went “honest”.
SpenceOC Says:
August 26th, 2008 at 11:44 am
What about his “agonizing” decision to rip off investors. People lost their futures because of this crook. People like him should be stripped of everything, castrated and put in prison.
Huh?? People lost their futures? What? Have you done any research before you made such an ignorant statement?? Have you done any research on what the Samueli’s have done for their community? How much they have given to charities? The Samueli’s are wonderful people. Do some research before you make just an ignorant statement….Look it up on the internet if you don’t know how to research…”On December 18, Broadcom said it would cancel some $37 million worth of outstanding unexercised options held by three executives and employees who deliberately backdated stock-option grants over a period of four and a half years”…is this the people you are referring to that lost everything?
Stupid is doing what others tell you to do…for the life of me I don’t understand people that can’t stand up for themselves and/or speak up for themselves. Just nobody telling you what to do, speak your truth!