Henry Samueli, the billionaire California entrepreneur and philanthropist, on Monday pleaded guilty to making a false statement to federal authorities about his role in stock options backdating at Broadcom, the semiconductor company he co-founded in 1991.

Mr Samueli, who owns the Anaheim Ducks ice hockey team and is a leading patron of the University of California, had faced up to five years in prison after federal prosecutors accused him of making a false statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission about his involvement in granting stock options to Broadcom employees.