[September 05, 2009] Manchin 1 of 4 govs. to get delivery of mystery computers Tweet Sep 04, 2009 (The Charleston Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Hewlett-Packard believes someone stole credit card information to ship computer equipment to governors in 10 states, including West Virginia, according to a document the company sent to state officials. The document, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, also says the orders were shipped to only four states. Last month, Gov. Joe Manchin's office received two shipments of laptops from HP. One delivery contained four computers, and the other contained one. The packages were addressed to Manchin. Officials turned them over to the West Virginia State Police after discovering that no one from the state had ordered them. The FBI and State Police are investigating the deliveries. According to the Aug. 25 HP document, the company learned on Aug. 13 that products were ordered to be shipped to the governors of 10 states: Florida, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina, New Mexico, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming. The orders were delivered only to New Mexico, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. "The orders were placed over the Web and HP is still trying to determine the cause," the memo says. "It is likely stolen credit card accounts were used to fraudulently place the orders." State attorneys general were alerted to the situation, according to the document. West Virginia officials have said no one in the governor's office turned on the computers because they could have introduced threats such as viruses and "spyware." HP has a contract to supply computer equipment to West Virginia state agencies. According to an e-mail HP sent to West Virginia officials on Aug. 6, the orders were placed online with a credit card under the name of "Governor Joe Manchin." The e-mail address used to place the order was "GOVERNOR_JOE"@WVGOV.ORG. Manchin's public e-mail address is "governor"@wvgov.org. The computers sent to Manchin's office were ordered on July 22, according to receipts, also obtained through FOIA. The order totaled $3,495. Four of the laptops cost $599 each, and one cost $1,099. Last week, a spokeswoman for Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas told The Associated Press that paperwork indicated the computers sent to Vermont also were ordered July 22. After news organizations reported on the deliveries last month, HP released a statement saying it was aware that "fraudulent state government orders recently have been placed for small amounts of HP equipment." In the statement, officials said they took "prompt corrective action" and were working with law enforcement on a criminal investigation. Spokeswoman Pamela Bonney said Thursday the company has no additional comment. Investigators aren't releasing additional information on the case, said State Police Sgt. Michael Baylous. Reach Alison Knezevich at [email protected] or 304-348-1240. To see more of The Charleston Gazette or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wvgazette.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]