Federal securities regulators said yesterday that they do not plan to bring civil charges against Apple over its stock-option backdating scandal. Yesterday, former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pinning the blame on Jobs for the scandal in the process.

“Steve Jobs dodged a bullet,” said Mark C. Zauderer, a trial lawyer in New York specializing in white-collar cases. “This is another circumstance where the government is going after an easier target. It will generally shy away from situations where the evidence is ambiguous or subject to different interpretations.”

While no plans against Apple are in the works, the SEC would not say whether other individuals could still face action. Unless the government can demonstrate direct involvement by Jobs in the falsification of documents, though, a case against Jobs would likely prove expensive and difficult to win.