Former HP Chairwoman Dunn Pleads Not Guilty in Spying Case

Patricia Dunn, former Hewlett-Packard chairwoman, on Wednesday entered a not-guilty plea in a San Jose, Calif., court to felony charges related to her role in the highly publicized 2005/2006 probe into the source of company information leaked to media outlets, Reuters reports via CNNMoney.com.

As part of the controversial probe, HP hired outside investigators to impersonate board members, staffers and journalists in order to get access to private telephone records.

Dunn resigned in September and later went on to testify before Congress about her role in the scandal. The former chairwoman has said that in retrospect she wishes the probe had been conducted differently, but has never accepted personal responsibility for the unethical methods employed, according to Reuters.

Dunn and four other individuals involved were hit in October with four separate charges filed by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer due to the deceptive methods employed in the HP probe. Those charges include conspiracy; fraudulent use of wire, radio or television transmissions; taking, copying and using computer data; and using personal identifying information without authorization, according to Reuters. They each carry a penalty of up to three years in prison, Reuters reports.