Former Hewlett-Packard Board of Directors Chairwoman Patricia Dunn pleaded not guilty today to four felony charges in connection with the HP telephone pretexting scandal.

Dunn appeared briefly in a San Jose courtroom to enter her plea. Neither she nor her attorney responded to questions from reporters following the hearing.

Dunn, 53, is one of five defendants charged by the California attorney general's office in connection with the pretexting scandal.

In addition to Dunn, former HP attorney Kevin Hunsaker, 41, and private investigators Ronald Delia, 56, Matthew Depante, 26, and Bryan Wagner, 29, also have been charged. All of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

HP has admitted that earlier this year it hired private investigators to obtain the personal phone records of its board members and several journalists in an effort to determine who was leaking information about the company to the media.

The private investigators used a tactic known as "pretexting" in which individuals falsely portray themselves as the owner of a particular phone number and use personal information about the number's owner, such as the last four digits of a Social Security number, to obtain the records of that phone number.

The attorneys for all five defendants are scheduled to return to court on Friday for a scheduling hearing.

— Bay City News Service

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.