Henry Thompson Nicholas III

Henry Thompson Nicholas III co-founded the broadband communications company Broadcom in 1991.

On June 5, 2008, Nicholas was indicted by a federal grand jury on drug and fraud charges. He is accused of conspiracy and SEC fraud, along with multiple drug charges.¹

Fast Facts:

1. Born: ca 1959
2. Company: Broadcom
3. Education: UCLA, B.S., Ph.D.
4. Net Worth (2005): $2.2 billion ²
5. Residence: Laguna Hills, California
6. Spouse: Stacey Nicholas, separated
7. 386 on 2003 Forbes World's Richest list²

Two Indictments

Two separate indictments were unsealed on June 5, 2008. The first accuses Nicholas of distributing and selling drugs at several different homes from 1999 to 2005. In the second indictment, Nicholas and former Broadcom CEO William Ruehle are accused of improperly backdating stock options.³

Court documents related to Nicholas's divorce proceedings released in 2007 revealed that after the public stock offering of Broadcom in 1998, Nicholas used some of his earnings to build an elaborate private brothel on his property.⁴

Key Dates

• 1991: Co-founded Broadcom
• 1998: Broadcom goes public in IPO
• 2003: Steps down as CEO of Broadcom to take, "Much-needed time off to attend to serious family matters"⁵
• 2007: Contractor Roman James claimed in court papers that Nicholas had "underground lair" constructed on the grounds of his mansion⁴
• 2007: SEC considers Nicholas an potential "unindicted co-conspirator" in securities fraud⁶
• April 2008: Enters alcohol rehab ⁷
• June 2008: Indicted on federal drug and fraud charges

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