Federal authorities have moved against one of HP's operatives, charging Bryan Wagner, "a/k/a mike@yahoo.com," apparently HP's chief pretexter, with conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.

It could mean seven years in the calaboose and a fine of $500,000.

US Attorney Kevin Ryan filed suit in district court in California on Wednesday.

Wagner is the guy who said he destroyed his computer so California's attorney general couldn't get his hands on it. He lives in Colorado and Nebraska and worked on HP's so-called Kona investigations trying to track down press leaks from HP's boardroom at the behest of Florida-based subcontractor Action Research Group (ARG).

The government is claiming wire fraud, illegal sharing and use of social security numbers, accessing a computer without authorization and siphoning off a reporter's phone records through a e-mail account set up for the purposes - to wit, mike@yahoo.com.

Wagner as well as the principals of ARG and Security Outsourcing Solutions (SOS), the Boston outfit that hired ARG, are already up on felony charges made by State of California authorities as is former HP chairman and Kona kingpin Patti Dunn and HP's former ethics officer Kevin Hunsaker.