DENVER -- The ad flap that brought unintended heat on the Beauprez for Governor campaign may now go to federal court.

Thursday, Wyoming acting U.S. Attorney John Green announced three misdemeanor counts of exceeding authorized access to a government computer against Immigration and Customs agent Cory Voorhis.

The charges follow a yearlong investigation handled by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If convicted, Voorhis could face up to three years in prison and a $300,000 fine.

The commercial highlighted former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter's record of plea bargains, especially one involving a sex offender.

Almost immediately, Ritter cried foul, saying the information contained in the ad could come only come from the National Crime Information Center's computer system.

It's a system that can be used only for law enforcement, not political commercials.

Ritter is attending a Chamber of Commerce leadership exchange program in Arizona and wasn't available for an comment., but spokesman Evan Dreyer said in a statement, "As a former prosecutor, Gov. Ritter always believed this incident involved a very clear violation of law and breach of the public trust. These charges only reinforce that belief, and the legal process must now move ahead."

Bob Beauprez, reached at his home in Lafayette, questioned how a full year of investigating could end with lesser charges.

"Well, I'm surprised," Beauprez said.

"If somebody would've asked me this morning something suprising is going to happen today, I sure wouldn't have thought about this. I thought this was yesterday's news," Beauprez said.

Beauprez never named the informant who brought the information to his campaign and reiterated that he's never met Voorhis.

Beauprez has no regrets but realizes the controversy could have cost him the governor's mansion.

"Undoubtedly it had an impact. I don't know how you measure that. But undoubtedly it did. So, you know, that's behind me," Beauprez said.

Voorhis was placed on paid leave for six months, returned to work for six months, and is on leave again.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok issued this statement saying, "ICE expects all its employees to uphold the highest standards of ethics."

Voorhis maintains his innocence.

Voorhis' attorney defeded his record, saying, "Mr. Voorhis has honorably served and defended the security of our country for 17 years, in uniform and as a federal agent. He stands by his actions in continuing support of that mission. After being under the black cloud of a state and federal investigation for a year, Mr. Voorhis looks forward to defending himself in court."

Taylor told 7NEWS they do not expect state charges but could not rule out the possibility.

He also says a conviction in this case is "exceedingly unlikely."

The Voorhis case is now in federal district court in Denver and will be handled by Wyoming's U.S. attorney in order to avoid any possible conflict-of-interest issues with local attorneys who may've worked with Voorhis.