Talk about a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing... The California AG, who was full of tough talk only a few months back when it came to the HP pretexting scandal, has dropped criminal charges against HP's former Chairman, Patrician Dunn.

They've also reached plea agreements with her co-defendants (former ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigators Ronald DeLia and Matthew DePante) basically amounting to restitution and community service.

Still, Federal pursuit of prosecution is not entirely out of the question. To date only PI. Bryan Wagner has so far faced federal felony charges. He previously plead guilty to both identity theft and conspiracy.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, Kevin Hunsaker, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Ronald DeLia

Charges of pretexing used in other instances by HP? Former HP vice president of business development, Karl Lambe's case was dismissed, but his allegations sure are interesting...

Meanwhile, it looks like HP PI, Bryan Wagner, who we las saw pleading guilty and gearing up to testify for the prosecution, won't be facing state charges. Prince among men, Peter Henning at the White Collar Crime Prof blog has the reasons why.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, Karl Lambe, Peter Henning, pretexting

From the SacBee, one of those stories I meant to post late on Friday but has gotten held over until today. Last week, when the papers were hinting that HP subcontractor, Bryan Wagner would be testifying for the prosecution, here's why:

Bryan Wagner, who faces federal identity theft and conspiracy charges, is accused of posing as a journalist to access the reporter's private phone records as part of the computer and printer maker's ill-fated attempt to ferret out the source of boardroom leaks to the media. The way Wagner was charged Wednesday - he agreed to waive grand jury proceedings - suggests he's likely cooperating with investigators aiming for more high-profile targets, said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor in San Francisco who is now in private practice.

"The government likes to start at the lowest point in the chain of responsibility and flip people," Jacobs said. "What it signals is that the government is trying to build the case against those more senior.

More on Wagner's fate via The Sacramento Bee.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, indictment, pretexting

Following Bryan Wagner's guilty plea. a date has been set for his sentencing - June 20th 2007. Wagner's lawyer has also, apparently, confirmed that Wagner will be testifying for the prosecution.

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, pretexting

Bryan Wagner takes a fall.

This guy is not even 30...a cautionary tale for P.I.s who put saying "yes" to a client above the client's best interest - and their own...

Wagner's actions were undoubtably pursuant to the request and at the direction of someone. And we'll find out the who, because Wagner seems to be cooperating. Federal prosecutors are not going to settle for busting the chops of some subcontractor when he can give them HP top brass and, perhaps, a few names from Wilson Sonsini too.

Check out the typical great collection of links on the story from The Jurist.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, pretexting, Wilson Sonsini

This would not be the folks from the Boston-area firm, Security Outsourcing Solutions, that you've read about previously, but rather P.I. Bryan Wagner our of San Francisco.

Wagner has been indicted in California on charges of utilizing the social security number of a journalist to obtain that individual's telephone records. He apparently did so at the direction of HP execs, their legal team or other investigators working on HP's behalf as a part of their internal "Kona 2" investigation to identify the source of HP's persistent high-level media leaks.

Wagner is facing charges of conspiracy and identity theft, which could carry penalties of up to seven years in jail. That California AG's office had previously announced that they were going to go hard on this matter and it looks like they are following through on the threat. It is expected, though, that the Wagner indictment is just bait to catch bigger fix. He is expected to cooperate with authorities.

Read more on the Wagner indictment via the IHT.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, Joseph DePante, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Ronald DeLia, Wilson Sonsini

Three investigators, Ronald DeLia of Security Outsourcing Solutions Inc., Matthew DePante of Action Research Group Inc., and Bryan Wagner of Colorado have all plead not guilty on charges relating to their role in the HP pretexting investigation. Alongside former HP chairman Patricia Dunn and former ethics chief, Kevin Hunsaker the three investiators bring the total number charged in the case to five.

Melbourne Australia-based P.I., Joseph Depante, for his part, has asked for charges to be dropped against his son Matthew, who apparently acted as a contractor in HP's "Kona II investigation" headed up by Gary DeLia of Boston-area P.I. firm Security Outsourcing Solutions. Depante suggested that his son should not be charged because he was acting under the authority of the DeLia's group. Depante also claimed no knowledge of the pretexting tactics employed by HP's agents:

“We had no idea Hewlett-Packard was involved in any of this,” Joseph DePante said Monday. “We were strictly working for DeLia. We are licensed private investigators, but we also provide information and skip-trace work to other companies and entities. We work with a lot of different sources, and those sources work with different investigators.”

More from DePante here.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP