Former Hewlett-Packard Chairman Patricia Dunn is scheduled to surrender to authorities in Santa Clara County on Thursday, one day after being charged with four felonies related to the company's spying campaign.
Dunn has agreed to appear at 2 p.m. PDT at Santa Clara County Superior Court to set an arraignment date, according to a statement issued by the California Attorney General's office.
Three others charged--Kevin Hunsaker, HP's former senior lawyer; Ronald DeLia, a private detective; and Bryan Wagner, an employee of data-brokering company Action Research Group--have also agreed to voluntarily surrender. Lockyer's office has yet to contact defendant Matthew DePante of Action Research.
All the accused are charged with fraudulent wire communication, wrongful use of computer data, identity theft and conspiracy to commit those crimes. Each count can bring a three-year jail sentence.
Prosecutors called Dunn the catalyst for HP's probe hunt, which attempted to uncover the source of media leaks at the company. HP investigators obtained phone records belonging to journalists, employees and board members without their permission.
Dunn has said she was never aware that illegal methods may have been used during her company's leak probe.
DeLia and Wagner live out of state but have agreed to come to California to set an arraignment date. The attorney general's office said Wednesday that it will request a US$50,000 bail amount for both men.
Michael Pancer, Hunsaker's attorney, issued a statement Thursday saying that his client is innocent and that "pretexting," the practice of obtaining information by false pretenses, was going on at HP well before Hunsaker joined the company's leak probe. HP's first large campaign to uncover the source of media leaks, dubbed "Kona I," started in the spring of 2005. Hunsaker first joined the team of investigators in January 2006.
"Kevin took no actions related to obtaining information about phone calls that were not known and authorized by his superiors," Pancer said.
The attorney also defended HP's right to expose those who leaked vital information about the company.
"The information obtained in this case was not obtained to cause harm or embarrassment of any kind," Pancer said, "but to end an unprecedented and prolonged breach of fiduciary duties that was harming the company."
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