Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs was questioned by government investigators leading the U.S. probe into backdated stock options grants at the company, lawyers familiar with the matter said.

Jobs met with officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department last week in San Francisco, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the interviews are confidential. Apple said last month an internal review found ``no misconduct'' by Jobs or current management.

The meeting, which took place the same week Apple announced record sales of its best-selling iPod music player, shows the U.S. government is still seeking information about Jobs's role in the backdating even after the company's report clearing him and others, said Nell Minow, editor at the Corporate Library, a corporate governance research firm in Portland, Maine.

``It is after all the SEC's view on his culpability that matters, not the internal investigation at Apple,'' Minow said.

The people wouldn't disclose specifics about what Jobs was asked, what he told investigators and whether there would be additional meetings.

Mark Pomerantz, an attorney for Jobs, declined to comment. Luke Macaulay, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan, whose office is investigating Apple, declined to comment, as did SEC spokesman John Nester in Washington.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple fell $1.09 to $85.70 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

6,500 Grants

Almost 6,500 grants to Apple employees were backdated between 1997 and 2002, including one grant to Jobs marked as approved at a special board meeting that never occurred, Apple said Dec. 29. Jobs chose dates for some options other than his own, the company said.

Apple hasn't publicly disclosed which options Jobs backdated, which other executives received backdated options or why it faked a board meeting. The company said no member of current management was aware of the ``irregularity'' concerning the fictitious meeting.

Apple continues to ``voluntarily and proactively'' inform government investigators of its findings and continues to answer their questions, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told analysts on a conference call on Jan. 17.

The interview with Jobs was first reported Jan. 19 by The Recorder, a legal newspaper in San Francisco.

Jobs's Options

At least 200 companies are being investigated for changing the dates of options grants to inflate their value. Companies have taken over $8.1 billion in charges or restatements to account for backdated options grants.

Stock options allow holders to buy shares at a later date, usually at the market price the day they were granted. Backdating options to days with low prices inflates their value. If not properly disclosed, the practice may break laws because it hides costs from shareholders and regulators.

In 2001, Jobs, 51, received options on 7.5 million shares. The terms of the grant were completed Dec. 18, 2001, when Apple's shares were trading at $21.01, Apple said. Oct. 19 was chosen as the grant's date, giving Jobs a lower exercise price of $18.30.

The company told shareholders in a March 2002 regulatory filing that the grant was approved at a special board meeting in October 2001. Apple said last month the meeting never took place.

Apple said it recorded $84 million in charges to correct its accounting for the backdated options, including $20 million for Jobs's 7.5 million share award. Jobs voluntarily canceled that grant and other outstanding options in March 2003. He chose to do so to make more stock available for employees, Apple said in an SEC filing at the time.

Instead, the board gave Jobs 5 million shares of restricted stock, which vested in March 2006. At the time, the shares were worth $646.6 million.

To contact the reporters on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net; Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 23, 2007 16:05 EST