A CALIFORNIA attorney is investigating several individuals in connection with stock option manipulations admitted by Apple Computer, opening the way for possible criminal prosecutions.

Kevin V. Ryan, US attorney for the Northern District of California, is understood to have met the company’s lawyers as he examines whether unidentified people connected with its stock options practices have a case to answer.

Mr Ryan is thought to have met the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the market watchdog, which is believed to have been examining Apple since the computer maker announced an internal review of its stock option grants three months ago.

Mr Ryan’s investigation, which is at an early stage, came to light a day after Apple admitted manipulating stock options. The company added that it would have to restate some of its past financial statements as a result.

Steve Jobs, chief executive, admitted knowing about “a few instances” of stock option backdating as Apple conceded that it had changed the grant date on stock options made on 15 days between 1997 and 2002.

Analysts were unsure how to read yesterday’s admission from Apple, which lacked detail on the size of the “backdated” grants, the identity of the recipients and the intent of Apple’s executives during the years in question.

Apple’s statement pointed out that Mr Jobs “did not benefit from these grants and was unaware of the accounting implications”, and that its investigation had found no misconduct by any member of Apple’s “current” management team. But it added that two unidentified former officers had “raised serious concerns” over the accounting, recording and reporting of stock option grants.

It is not known whom Mr Ryan is targeting, although suspicion has centred on the two unidentified former officers.

Fred Anderson, the company’s chief financial officer during the years in question, resigned from the board on Wednesday with immediate effect in the “best interests” of the business.

Mr Anderson is probably best known for co-founding Elevation Partners, the venture capital firm in which he is a managing director, with Bono, the U2 singer.

A spokesman for Mr Anderson declined to comment although he did provide a character reference from Roger McNamee, another Elevation co-founder.

Mr McNamee said: “Fred was a very successful CFO at Apple, where he played an integral part in saving that company, its employees and shareholders from financial ruin . . . I have been impressed with his thoroughness, his uncompromising character and the high professional standards to which he has held himself.”

Spokesmen for Apple, Mr Ryan and the SEC declined to comment on possible investigations.

The restatements could hit some of the windfall generated during Apple’s recent run of record profits, analysts said. It has reported profits totalling $3.1 billion during the past four years.

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