Patricia Dunn, the former HP board member and central figure in the company's scandal involving corporate spying, pleaded not guilty to felony charges in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Dunn, along with four others including former HP attorney Kevin Hunsaker and three contractors who investigated HP board members as well as members of the media to uncover a media leak, are charged with use of false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility, unauthorized access to computer data, identity theft, and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. Each has pleaded not guilty.
The defendants are scheduled to appear next in court on Friday. The charges could bring a prison sentence of up to 12 years, according to reports.
