Judge dismisses Samueli’s guilty plea

A federal judge in Santa Ana has dismissed Newport billionaire Henry Samueli’s guilty plea after being convinced that the Broadcom co-founder did not deliberately lie to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Samueli, who owns the Anaheim Ducks, did not knowingly make false statements to the SEC when he and others were investigated for allegedly backdating stock options in the company, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney announced in court Wednesday. Carney rejected Samueli’s earlier plea deal, which would have spared him jail time.

Samueli was testifying in Broadcom Chief Financial Officer William Ruehle’s trial for allegedly backdating stock options for employees and lying to the government about it.

Samueli’s guilty plea was part of a deal with federal prosecutors, officials said. Samueli hoped to avoid jail time and pay $12 million in fines, but Carney threw out the deal, saying he did not want it to appear that justice could be bought. Samueli was awaiting sentencing.

Broadcom Chief Executive Officer Scott McGregor released this statement: “On behalf of the people of Broadcom, I express our tremendous gratitude for today’s decision. Dr. Henry Samueli is one of the most brilliant minds of his generation. Today’s decision by the court means that Dr. Samueli will continue to devote his extraordinary engineering expertise for the best interests of Broadcom’s employees, shareholders, and the many other businesses that rely on Broadcom’s continued great success.”