Ex-Intel Engineer Varun Gupta Avoids Prison Over Trade Secret Theft

Photo: Intel

India-West News Desk

PORTLAND, OR — Former Intel engineer Varun Gupta has been sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay a $34,472 fine after admitting to stealing thousands of confidential files from the semiconductor manufacturer before moving to Microsoft in 2020.

Gupta, 44, worked at Intel for a decade as a product marketing engineer, during which he had access to proprietary pricing strategies, product designs, and manufacturing data. Prosecutors said that in his final days with the company in January 2020, Gupta copied approximately 4,000 files from his company-issued computer to personal hard drives.

Court documents revealed that Gupta later accessed the stolen material while employed at Microsoft, using it in negotiations directly involving Intel. Among the files was a presentation detailing Intel’s pricing strategy for a major client, which prosecutors described as highly sensitive and “instrumental” to Gupta securing his new role.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Narus pressed for an eight-month prison sentence, arguing that Gupta’s conduct was “deliberate and repetitive.” Defense attorney David Angeli acknowledged the seriousness of the theft but maintained that his client had already suffered significant personal and professional losses. Gupta also previously settled a civil lawsuit with Intel for $40,000.

U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio declined to impose prison time but underscored the seriousness of the offense by setting the fine equal to the projected cost of the prison term sought by prosecutors. She said Gupta’s reputation had already been severely damaged but emphasized that the conduct could not be considered a one-time mistake.

Gupta has since left the technology sector and relocated to France with his family.