Earlier this month, the Attorney General of California charged a number of individuals, including the former chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its former in-house lawyer, with fraudulent wire communications, wrongful use of computer data, identity theft and conspiracy. The offences carry a maximum prison sentence of three years.
Central to the charges being brought was the allegation that “false and fraudulent pretences” had been used to obtain telephone records from board members and journalists being investigated regarding the leaking of information to the media. It was also alleged that the lawyer had continued to assist the private investigators (PIs), even though he had become aware that they were obtaining confidential records by subterfuge.
