Local donor named in suit

Henry Samueli, cofounder of the Broadcom Corp. and one of Newport-Mesa’s most famous philanthropists, has been named in a federal investigation as a potential co-conspirator in a case involving backdating of his company’s stock options.

Prosecutors referred to Samueli and Henry Nicholas, the other founder of Broadcom, as “unindicted potential co-conspirators” Thursday during a court hearing at United States District Court in Santa Ana.

An attorney mentioned Samueli and Nicholas during a hearing for another Broadcom employee, Nancy Tullos, who pleaded guilty in November to ordering a subordinate to delete an e-mail that was potentially damaging to the company.

Samueli and Nicholas are identified as “Executive A” and “Executive B” in the plea agreement, and Thursday’s hearing marked the first time their names had openly been connected to the case.

A spokeswoman for Broadcom did not return calls seeking comment. Jason de Bretteville, an attorney for Tullos, confirmed basic facts about the case but declined comment otherwise.

Tullos was charged with obstruction of justice after she allegedly asked a subordinate to delete an e-mail concerning a controversy about an engineer hired by Broadcom in 1999.

The engineer wrote to Tullos asking why the company had changed his official hire date, according to court documents. The new date, he said, would make his stock options more expensive.

Brad Brian, an attorney for Nicholas, said in a statement that his client “did not personally benefit from any alleged options backdating and sought advice from appropriate persons regarding the process for option grants.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.