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Before move to AMD, Intel engineer stole documents

A former Intel engineer pleads guilty to stealing documents just before he left Intel and took a job at rival AMD.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers

A former Intel engineer has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of data from the chip giant before leaving the company, according to a Bloomberg report.

The worker, Biswamohan Pani, 36, of Chelmsford, Mass., stole the sensitive chip-related information "to advance his career with a competitor," according to Bloomberg. He worked at an Intel chip-manufacturing plant in Hudson, Mass.

Pani gave notice to Intel on May 29, 2008, with his last day set for June 11 and began work at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on June 2, "while retaining access to Intel's data system," according to prosecutors.

Pani downloaded Intel data related to chip manufacturing and design, the Justice Department said. The value of the documentation found in his home was between $200 million and $400 million.

The FBI was able to recover the documents before any damage was done to Intel, according to the report. AMD also cooperated in the investigation and there is no evidence of AMD wrongdoing.

Pani could face up to 20 years in prison on each fraud count. Sentencing is scheduled for August 8.