A former Intel employee who previously was charged with stealing trade secrets from the chipmaker reportedly faces four new charges of wire fraud.
The FBI in August charged Biswahoman Pani with theft of trade secrets after allegedly finding more than 100 pages of sensitive Intel documents, including 13 "top secret" files with designs for future processor chips, inside Pani's home. The information Pani obtained reportedly was worth more than US$1 billion in research and development costs.
Pani resigned from Intel in May, stating he would continue working there through June 11, according to the FBI. However, he began working for rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices on June 2, while he still had access to his Intel laptop and the company's computer network. The indictment against Pani alleges he collected the sensitive information from Intel for its competitive value to his new employer.
Intel asked the FBI and the Justice Department to intervene after learning about Pani's job at AMD from another Intel employee. The FBI said there is no evidence that AMD knew of or encouraged Pani's actions or ever received the confidential Intel files. Pani is no longer employed by AMD.
The five charges against Pani have been filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, with the latest four counts of wire fraud added Wednesday. Pani could serve a maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty of theft of trade secrets and could serve up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud.
This article was first published as a blog on CNET News.com.
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