Dunn, a former HP senior counsel and three private investigators hired by HP were charged with four felony counts by California state prosecutors. The defendants allegedly used unethical and illegal methods to spy on reporters and HP directors, according to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
Prosecutors asked that Dunn’s bail be set at $5,000 or that she be released on her own recognizance, which she was, said Lockyer spokesperson Tom Dresslar. Her arraignment date has been set for November 17.
Former HP senior counsel Kevin Hunsaker, who recently resigned, also surrendered to authorities yesterday. His arraignment date is December 6. Two other private investigators charged, Ronald DeLia and Bryan Wagner, have agreed to surrender, Dresslar said.
However, the third PI charged, Matthew DePante of information broker Action Research Group, had not yet surrendered, Dresslar said. He declined to say why DePante had not yet surrendered, just that Lockyer’s prosecutors were waiting on Matthew DePante … I’d just prefer to leave it at that.
After the arraignments, assuming the defendants plead ‘not guilty,’ there will be a preliminary hearing at which the state will attempt to establish probably cause in the case. After that a trial date will be set, which likely won’t be until next year.
Dunn, who resigned from HP after the spying scandal broke a few weeks ago, and the four others are being charged with identity theft, the illegal use of computer data, conspiracy and wire fraud.
Dunn’s lawyer, Jim Jim Brosnahan of the law firm Morrison & Foerster, said, These charges are being brought against the wrong person at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons. They are the culmination of a well-financed and highly orchestrated disinformation campaign.
Brosnahan said the charges were false and that Dunn would fight them with everything she has.
But Lockyer said HP was one of California’s most venerable institutions but had lost its way with its probe into who on its board leaked confidential information to the press.
Dunn wasn’t the only one professing innocent. Ron DeLia, operator of Security Outsourcing Solutions Inc, a Boston-based private eye firm hired by HP to discover an internal source of leaks to the media, also was indicted.
I am innocent of these charges, DeLia said, in a statement he read to The Associated Press. I’ve been a professional private investigator for more than 30 years. I respect the law and I did not break the law in the HP investigation.
The Attorney General’s office own investigation into HP was not yet over, Lockyer said. He hinted that more charges related to the case might be possible.
HP said, in a statement, that it was continuing to cooperate with state and federal investigators looking into the boardroom leaks issue. The company has no further comment.
HP chief executive Mark Hurd was not named in the charges, and Lockyer said there currently was no evidence of criminal conduct by Hurd.
