In addition to the subpoenas issued for Jobs and Heinen, a third was issued but SEC official Marc Fagel refused to say to whom.

The charges against Heinen involve securities fraud and causing false records to be filed. While the charges are civil, not criminal, they are among the most serious the SEC can bring, said Peter J. Henning, a law professor at Wayne State University Law School and author of the White Collar Crime Blog, in an interview.

"She could lose her license" to practice law, he said. It is still possible the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco could bring criminal charges against her.

Jobs Not a Target

The subpoena of Jobs doesn't indicate that the SEC is interested in him, Henning said. "This is more procedural. They want to tie down what he would say under oath and on the record," he said. If the agency were pursuing Jobs, "this isn't how they would go about it. They're just tying everything up and gathering the information to be introduced at trial," he said.

While former CFO Fred Anderson settled with the SEC for $3.5 million, the agency is moving forward with bringing Heinen to trial. "They're talking about a trial date for next year or even the year after," Henning said. "It wouldn't surprise me if they talked settlement at some point."

The charges date back to February 2001, when Apple granted 4.8 million options to six members of its executive team, including Heinen and Anderson. In order to avoid almost $19 million in compensation charges, Heinen had the options backdated to January 17, 2001, the SEC charges. She is alleged to have ordered subordinates to prepare fake documents showing the Apple board approved the grants on that date.

The SEC said that Heinen ordered the backdating of 7.5 million options to Jobs from December to October 2001, when Apple's share price was lower, to save the company some $20 million in charges. Heinen signed fictitious board minutes stating the grant was made on October 19, at a meeting that never took place, the SEC said. Jobs is said to have picked the dates himself, but not to have understood the implications of the backdating.

Investigations 'Coming to a Head'

One possible risk for Jobs is if his story at deposition is markedly different than what he told the SEC in a voluntary interview last winter. Henning said he doubted that would happen. "His lawyer will make sure he doesn't contradict himself," he said.

Look for more backdating suits to come to trial in the coming year, Henning said. "They are coming to a head now. The investigations take 18 to 24 months." McAfee former general counsel Kent Roberts was charged with options-related fraud in March. Last month, the SEC filed suit against Lisa Berry, former general counsel for KLA-Tencor and Juniper Networks. And in August, former Brocade CEO Gregory Reyes was convicted of conspiracy and fraud.

While investigators often offer settlements to get at bigger fish, it doesn't appear the SEC is shooting any higher at Apple. "She's the end of the line there," Henning said, "unless something astounding happens. ... The case isn't getting any fresher."