Ex-Intel engineer sentenced for sharing secrets with Microsoft — gets two years of probation and $34k fine for stealing 'thousands of files' that may have landed them a new job with the company
An ex-Intel employee has been sentenced to two years' probation and fined $34,472 for pilfering 'thousands of files,' which were reportedly instrumental to him landing a new position at Microsoft. Oregon Live says that Varun Gupta, who had been a product marketing engineer at Intel for a decade, aided Microsoft in significant processor purchasing negotiations with Intel. A custodial sentence was offset by the fine and the judge's belief that Gupta had suffered enough due to a loss of reputation.
The timeline
As we mentioned in the intro, Gupta was an Intel employee for 10 years, but he departed the iconic PC chipmaker in January 2020, moving directly to Microsoft.
From the source report, it seems that Gupta spent a lot of time copying files containing trade secrets shortly before leaving his employment at the Santa Clara headquartered corporation.
These trade secrets were reportedly instrumental to Gupta securing his new position at Microsoft. Moreover, they were subsequently used for the benefit of Microsoft in processor purchasing negotiations with Intel. A particular PowerPoint document was referenced in the court records, indicating that the presentation slide(s) charted Intel's pricing strategy, as drafted for another major customer.
The court proceedings
Oregon Live reports that the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Narus, sought an eight-month prison term for Gupta. Narus spoke about Gupta's purposeful and repeated access to secret documents. Eight months of federal imprisonment was sought as Gupta repetitively abused his cache of secret documents, according to the prosecutor.
For the defense, attorney David Angeli described Gupta's actions as a 'serious error in judgment.' Mitigating circumstances, such as Gupta's permanent loss of high-level employment opportunities in the industry, and that he had already paid $40,000 to settle a civil suit brought by Intel, were highlighted.
U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio concluded the court hearing by delivering a balance between the above adversarial positions. Baggio decided that Gupta should face a two-year probationary sentence. Meanwhile, that peculiar $34,472 fine is explained as equating to the cost of eight months of federal imprisonment that Gupta avoided by a hair's breadth.
Baggio reasoned that the fine helped reinforce the understanding that Gupta's actions were seen as more than a one-off indiscretion. But her position was softened by the very public besmirchment of the ex-Intel exec's character.
Gupta's travels
Gupta was ordered to pay the fine in full before heading back to France. The ex-tech exec and his family have started afresh in La Belle France, with eyes on a completely new career in the wine industry.
According to the report, Gupta is now studying for a qualification in vineyard management, while aiming to work as a technical director in the business.
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