Ex-Intel Worker Indicted for Allegedly Stealing Chip-Maker's Secrets

A 33-year-old engineer could face up to 90 years in prison following his indictment this week for stealing trade secrets from the world’s largest chip-maker.

 

According to The Associated Press, Biswamohan Pani allegedly downloaded $1 billion worth of trade secrets days after resigning from Santa Clara, California-based Intel (News - Alert) Corp. while burning unused vacation days. Pani already was working for the company’s rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., according to a five-count indictment filed this week by federal prosecutors in Massachusetts.

 

Pani worked for an Intel facility in Hudson, Massachusetts, according to AP reporter Jordan Robertson.

 

“What Pani’s supervisors didn’t know then is that instead of taking the time to investigate a hedge fund job Pani claimed he was considering, he had actually started working for AMD (News - Alert) and for a brief period was on both companies’ payrolls,” Robertson reports.

 

The information Pan is accused of stealing – contained on about a dozen documents that he downloaded over four days in June – is worth more than $1 billion in research and development costs, according to prosecutors. The documents include details about microprocessor, or chip, design – a an area of carefully guarded trade secrecy.

 

According to Robertson, the indictment says Pani “planned to use this information to advance his career at AMD or elsewhere by drawing on it when the opportunity arose, whether with his employer’s knowledge or not.”

 

AMD reportedly told Robertson that Pani is no longer an employee, and prosecutors say the Sunnyvale, California-based company is said not to have benefitted from the man’s actions.

 

Robertson quotes this statement from the company: “AMD has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the FBI has stated that there is no evidence that AMD had any involvement in or awareness of Mr. Pani’s alleged actions.”

 

Prosecutors brought one theft of trade secrets charge against Pani, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and four counts of wire fraud, which carry up to 20 years each, if convicted.

 

According to Robertson, Pani told investigators that he had planned give the information to his wife, who also worked for Intel.

 

“Pani’s lawyer, Brad Bailey, declined to comment on specifics of the case,” the AP reports. “He said that Pani denies the allegations and that they plan to take the case to trial.”