Two Men Charged in Lost Top Secret iPhone Prototype Case

The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office has filed misdemeanor charges in the case of a lost iPhone prototype that was found at a Redwood City beer garden last year and sold to a technology blog for $5,000.

Brian Hogan, 22, of Redwood City, and Sage Wallower, 28, of Emeryville, have each been charged with one count of misappropriation of lost property, Assistant District Attorney Morley Pitt said. Wallower was also charged with one count of possession of stolen property.

Hogan allegedly found the prototype after an Apple employee lost it at the restaurant on Broadway on March 18, 2010, according to the district attorney's office.

Hogan contacted Wallower to help him sell the iPhone, Pitt said.

The two men allegedly arranged to sell it for $5,000 to the technology blog Gizmodo, which then disassembled it and listed details about the yet-to-be-released iPhone on its website.

Pitt said it took until now to file charges because of the amount of time it took investigators to gain access to all of the computers involved, and then extract the appropriate digital evidence.

No charges will be filed against Gizmodo employees.

Hogan and Wallower each face up to a year in county jail if convicted, Pitt said. They are scheduled to be arraigned in San Mateo County Superior Court at 9 a.m. on Aug. 25.

--Bay City News