Anaheim Ducks owner, and former UCLA professor, Henry Samueli has agreed to plead guilty to lying to federal authorities about his role in the backdating of stock options at Broadcom Corp., the Irvine computer chip company he co-founded, documents filed in federal court disclosed today, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Samueli, a billionaire who is among Southern California’s most prominent philanthropists, was arraigned this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marc L. Goldman in Santa Ana on a single felony count of lying to federal regulators. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and a navy blue pinstriped suit, Samueli was asked if he understood his rights.

“Yes, sir,” Samueli said in a clear, firm voice.

Samueli entered a not guilty plea as is customary at first appearances in federal court, but he was expected to change that to a guilty plea this afternoon to a single felony count of giving a false statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The charge and additional details were contained in an information, a charging document, and a plea agreement filed with the court.

Under his agreement with federal prosecutors, Samueli would be placed on probation for five years and pay penalties of $12.2 million, but would not be obliged to testify for the government.

A call to Samueli’s defense lawyer, Gordon Greenberg of Los Angeles, was not immediately returned.

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