Calif. AG Charges HP's Dunn, 4 Others

UPDATED Two former Hewlett-Packard executives, plus three others outside of the company were indicted with in California late Wednesday on four felony charges. The charges include using false pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility, unauthorized access to computer data, identity theft, and conspiracy.

"One of our state's most venerable corporate institutions lost its way as its board sought to find out who leaked confidential company information to the press," Attorney General Bill Lockyer said during a press conference. "In this misguided effort, people inside and outside HP violated privacy rights and broke state law."

Those named in the indictments include former chairwoman Patricia Dunn, former senior HP lawyer Kevin Hunsaker, private investigator Ronald DeLia of Boston, Action Research Group owner Joseph DePante, and ARG employee Bryan Wagner of Colorado.

Hunsaker availed himself of his Fifth Amendment rights before Congress last Thursday, while Dunn testified for several hours with regard to her role. While she launched two investigations into possible leaks of HP boardroom information, Dunn told the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she believed she was not in functional control of the process on a day-to-day basis, due to the nature of her non-executive position on the Board.

Several months into the "Kona II" stage of the investigation, Dunn said, she was told by investigators hired by HP's security staff that the act of pretexting - acquiring telephone records by posing as a more official source - was lawful, or at least not illegal. She stated she was not aware the process even existed or could be necessary until informed by investigators.

During opening statements Thursday, only a few brief mentions were given to the fact that it isn't clear just who HP's investigators impersonated while retrieving phone records. One congressman suggested someone should ascertain whether a "pretexter" could pose as a member of the US Dept. of Homeland Security, and if so, whether more severe federal penalties could be imposed as a result.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer indicated on September 12 that he had enough evidence to bring charges against HP executives. "We currently have sufficient evidence to indict people, both within Hewlett-Packard, as well as contractors on the outside," he said on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

According to the New York Times, Dunn hired DeLia in 2005, who owned Security Outsourcing Solutions. In turn, DeLia outsourced some of the work to DePante and ARG, who then placed Wagner on the case. Hunsaker was in charge of overseeing the investigation.

Dunn resigned on September 22, and Hunsaker was fired after he refused to resign. It is unclear whether any personnel changes have been made in the third-party companies that have assisted in the investigation.

HP had no immediate public comment on the latest developments.