BREKING NEWS: Judge throws out Samueli guilty plea

A federal judge in Santa Ana has dismissed Newport Beach billionaire Henry Samueli’s guilty plea for allegedly lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom and owner of the Anaheim Ducks, did not knowingly make false statements to the SEC when they were investigating him and others for backdating stock options in the company, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney,announced in court Wednesday. Carney, the same judge who rejected Samueli’s earlier plea deal that spared him jail time, apparently was convinced after two days of Samueli’s testimony that he did not deliberately deceive the SEC.

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.

Carney dismissed Samueli’s guilty plea, which came as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, officials said. Samueli pleaded guilty last year and hoped to avoid jail time and pay $12 million in fines. Carney threw out the deal, saying he did not want it to appear you could buy justice. 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.”