SEC Charges Broadcom's Former Vice President of Human Resources for Stock Option Backdating

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-29

Washington, D.C., March 4, 2008 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a settled enforcement action against Nancy M. Tullos, the former vice president of human resources at Broadcom Corporation, for her participation in a five-year scheme to backdate stock options granted to Broadcom employees and officers.

As a result of this scheme, Broadcom restated its financial results in January 2007 and reported an additional $2.22 billion in compensation expenses — the largest restatement to date arising from stock option backdating.

"Ms. Tullos personally benefited from the stock option backdating scheme that she facilitated in her role as head of Broadcom's human resources department," said Rosalind R. Tyson, Acting Regional Director of the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office. "The Commission will continue to aggressively pursue actions against individuals such as Ms. Tullos who engage in fraudulent options practices that mislead investors."

The Commission charged Tullos with participating in a scheme at Broadcom from 1998 to 2003 to backdate stock option grants to coincide with the dates of low closing prices for the company's stock, resulting in grants of in-the-money options to Tullos and numerous individuals. The SEC's complaint alleges that Tullos communicated false grant dates within the company and provided spreadsheets of stock option allocations for the backdated grants to Broadcom's finance and shareholder services departments, knowing that they would use such information to prepare Broadcom's books and records and periodic filings with the SEC. As a result, the complaint alleges that Tullos contributed to Broadcom's misrepresentations in these filings that no compensation expense was required for the stock option grants. Tullos personally benefited from the backdating scheme because she received and exercised backdated stock options that were in-the-money by more than $1.2 million.

Under the settlement, Tullos agreed to pay more than $1.3 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, which will be offset by the value of her exercisable stock options that Broadcom cancelled. She agreed to pay a civil penalty of $100,000. Tullos also will be enjoined from violations of an antifraud provision as well as aiding and abetting violations of the reporting and recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws. Tullos agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint.

The Commission acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

The Commission's investigation in this matter is continuing.

# # #

For more information, contact:

Michele Wein Layne
Associate Regional Director
SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office
(323) 965-3850

Finola Halloran Manvelian
Assistant Regional Director
SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office
(323) 965-3980

Molly White
Senior Trial Counsel
SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office
(323) 965-3250

  Additional materials: Litigation Release No. LR-20476

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-29.htm