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Henry Nicholas, Broadcom Co-Founder, Claims "Character Assassination" at the Hand of Ex-Wife: a Probate Court's Nightmare

Billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III, the co-founder of Irvine, California-based computer chip maker Broadcom accused his ex-wife Stacey Nicholas of "character assassination" in her attempts to expel him as co-trustee of their family holdings.

The L.A. Times reports that, in a November probate court filing, Stacey claimed her ex-husband "should be removed as a trustee for allegedly squandering $60 million from their fortune on personal indulgences, having her tailed by detectives wearing gorilla masks and threatening her life." This would seem like something out of a movie, but then again, this isn't the first time strange allegations have been thrown at the former Broadcom founder. In addition to facing securities fraud and conspiracy charges related to his company, in June of 2008 Nicholas III was indicted on drug, sex and fraud charges involving allegations of:

"...feeding ecstasy to unwitting business associates, hosting orgies at a private drugs warehouse and building a secret party lair under his mansion that even his wife knew nothing about."

Nevertheless, Henry Nicholas claims the attempt to oust him as co-trustee was filled with "outrageous falsehoods" by his ex-wife, including "misrepresenting herself as unable to meet her expenses when she had spent more than $100 million in the last two years." The pair's divorce court files have been sealed, which Henry Nicholas' attorneys say explains why Stacey turned to the probate court to air the dirty laundry.

• L.A. Times: Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas accuses ex-wife of character assassination
• Times Online: Californian billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III faces drugs, sex and fraud charges
• Billionaire accuses ex-wife of "publicity stunt" to get money (ocbiz.freedomblogging.com)
• Copy of Court Filing by Henry Nicholas (ocbiz.freedomblogging.com)
• Probate and Estate Administration - An Overview (provided by Bredemann & McFarlane, PLC)
• Understanding the Divorce Process (FindLaw)
• Securities Law (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on January 23, 2009 (boomark / email).