Follow up to Trade Secret News: Former Intel worker charged in theft of secret files

I reported on the arrest here and now the employee is indicted.

Former Intel engineer indicted for stealing trade secrets

November 7, 2008 (Computerworld) A former Intel Corp. design engineer has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly stealing trade secrets from the chip maker while secretly working for rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

The indictment was handed down on Wednesday against Biswamohan Pani, according to R. Bradford Bailey, Pani's attorney and a defense lawyer at Denner Pellegrino LLP in Boston. "It was not a surprise," Bailey told Computerworld. He added that Pani, who had been charged with the theft in late August, will enter a not guilty plea at his

Feds Charge Ex-Intel Employee with Taking $1 Billion in Trade Secrets

The five-count indictment charges that Biswamohan Pani downloaded about a dozen technical papers from Intel as he prepared to leave for another job at AMD. All together, the papers held about $1 billion worth of research and development secrets, including designs for microprocessors, according to a Nov. 6 report in the Associated Press.

The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts and the FBI. Pani’s attorney denied the charges, according to the Associated Press. If convicted, Pani could face a maximum sentence of 10 years for taking the trade secrets, plus an additional 20 years for wire fraud.

The indictment was handed down the week of Nov. 3. Pani appears to have downloaded the documents during a four-day period in June,

In a statement, AMD spokesman Michael Silverman wrote that Pani is no longer working with AMD. AMD is cooperating with federal prosecutors and the FBI. The Associated Press reported that AMD did not know that Pani took the papers from Intel as he waited to join the company.

“AMD is cooperating fully in the FBI investigation into this matter,” Silverman wrote in an e-mail to eWEEK. “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.”

Intel's ex-employee accused of trade secrets theft - The Money Times

Prosecuters said that it was a meticulous act by Mr. Pani, planned in pursuit to enhance his career in AMD. However, AMD, they said, was totally unware of Mr. Pani's intentions and the company did not benefit from the alleged thefts in any way. In one of its statements issued on Thursday, AMD affirmed that Mr. Biswamohan Pani is no longer its employee and that the company is extending full support for the investigation.

Till date, Pani has been charged with total four counts of wire frauds at the District Court in Boston. Presently, he has been released on a $100,000 bail. If found guilty, Pani is expected to land upto a jail term of 90 years; 10 for trade secret theft and 20 each for the other four counts, and he will also be charged a fine of $250,000 for each count. The arraignment date is scheduled for November 20.