Did Apple falsify documents for option grants?

According to Mac Daily News, outside investigators have discovered that documents covering options grants at Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were falsified. This would appear to make the probe into Apple's options back-dating issues more serious than was previously believed.

Part of the evidence that the entire investigation is becoming more serious is that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has hired his own legal representation.

The coverage of the mushrooming of Apple's options problems was drawn from a report at Law.com. The most serious portion of the web site's reporting is an indication that the investigation could make matters much worse for Mr. Jobs: "While it will likely take some time -- perhaps a matter of months -- for the government to decide whether to file criminal charges against Jobs, the 10(k) filing on Friday should provide plaintiffs lawyers with some ammunition for their suits against the company."

It has been widely believed that Jobs had stayed clear of any legal or SEC problems in the matter, although a board member from Apple has resigned. Jobs may have more problems than investors had assumed.

AAPL shares are down more than 4% in pre-market trading.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.