"It's meant to pressure (Nicholas) to cop to something or plea out." The U.S. Attorney's office in Santa Ana is looking into options backdating at Broadcom, where cofounder Nicholas stepped down as chief executive in 2003. Earlier this year, Broadcom restated financial results for 1998 through 2005 with charges of $2.2 billion,the biggest bill so far for any company involved in the options issue. An inquiry by Broadcom directors found Nicholas bore "significant responsibility." Former Broadcom chief financial officer William Ruehle, who resigned last year, also is part of the federal probe. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal broke news that federal investigators had broadened their probe to include a look at a civil suit against Nicholas by a former personal assistant.