A former Intel Corp employee, who stole classified documents worth hundreds of millions of dollars, pleaded guilty on Friday, April 6, to five counts of wire fraud. Boston federal prosecutors have alleged that 36-year-old Biswamohan Pani, a former Intel employee, downloaded some of the chipmaker's "most valuable" design and manufacturing documents in June 2008, before leaving for rival company, AMD.

On Friday, Pani pleaded guilty and was convicted for five counts of wire fraud, after he admitted to having stolen design and manufacturing documents from Intel while already working for rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD).

According to prosecutors in Boston, Pani gave notice of his intentions to leave his position at Intel on May 29, 2008, but he neglected to mention that he had already accepted a job offer from AMD. Instead, he requested additional vacation time before leaving his position with the company, and used this time to begin his new job at AMD, while continuing to procure even more Intel documents. Pani's last day as an engineer at Intel was June 11, 2008.

Materials Worth $200M to $400M at Least, Says Intel

Intel estimated the documents to be worth at least between $200 million to $400 million, according to court filings. A month after the company discovered the theft and involved the authorities, an FBI search found electronic and physical copies of the materials in Pani's apartment.

At the time of the alleged theft, Intel was not aware that Pani had already accepted another job and started working at AMD, Intel's biggest rival in the chip industry. Pani reportedly acted alone and there was no evidence that he was instructed by AMD, which was not even aware of his actions, said the prosecutors.

"AMD was not 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," said AMD spokesman Drew Prairie, as cited by Reuters. Authorities said AMD was cooperative throughout the investigation, and none of the stolen documents were spread or used against Intel.

Pani allegedly stole the materials in order to advance his career at AMD or somewhere else. AMD fired him in 2008. The man now faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 8.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)