Broadcom co-founder sorry for SEC lies

Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli has apologized for lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during its probe of stock options backdating at the chip maker, an Associated Press report said.

Samueli's two-page written apology, filed Monday with US District Judge Cormac Carney, stands as the first public comment on the case by the billionaire philanthropist and owner of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks, the report said.

Samueli is scheduled for sentencing on September 8 on a felony count of lying to the regulatory agency.

Prosecutors have recommended that Samueli get five years probation and pay at least €8.1 million (US$12 million) in penalties, but Carney must sign off on the deal.

Samueli wrote that his first instinct was to fight the case because he didn't want to have a felony on his record. Then, he said, he talked with family and friends and decided to own up to his wrongdoing.

The plea agreement is part of a larger federal criminal probe into stock-options backdating at Broadcom, which was ultimately forced to write down €1.5 billion (US$2.2 billion) in profits _ the largest accounting restatement to date because of illegal backdating.